THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


MUSIC 
LIBRARY 


JULES  JORDAN,  MUS.  DOC. 


THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A 
MUSICAL  LIFE 


By 
JULES  JORDAN,  Mus.  Doc. 

(Brown  1895) 


PROVIDENCE,  RHODE  ISLAND 

PALMER  PRESS 

1922 


COPYRIGHT  1922  BY  JULES  JORDAN 
All  Rights  Reserved 


Printed  by  the  Palmer  Press,  Providence 


Music 
Library 

__ 

To  the  memory  of  my  father  and  mother, 
LYMAN  JORDAN 

and 

SUSAN  BECKWITH  JORDAN 
and  to  my  brothers  and  sisters, 

REV.  D.  A.  JORDAN, 
CHARLES  B.  JORDAN, 

JULIAN  JORDAN, 

LYMAN  F.  JORDAN, 

MRS.  SUSAN  ANNETTE  DUNSTAN, 

MRS.  CHARLOTTE  R.  HAVENS 

and 

JENNIE  B.  JORDAN, 
this  book  is  affectionately  dedicated. 


Dear  names !  None  e'er  so  dear  to  me, 

Recalling  youth's  felicity, 
When  music  was  our  chiefest  joy, 

A  happiness  without  alloy. 


1415941 


PREFACE 

A  suggestion  from  Dr.  Jordan  last  spring  that 
he  might  write  some  of  his  reminiscences  for  the 
public  press  led  to  my  suggesting  in  return  that  I 
might  print  them  for  him  in  book  form.  If  I  had  in 
mind  a  leisurely  enterprise,  stretching  comfortably 
and  indefinitely  into  the  future,  I  was  quickly  un- 
deceived, for,  as  I  find  from  an  entry  in  my  note- 
book, he  began  work  on  the  day  my  proposal  was 
made,  and  had  practically  completed  the  task  within 
the  next  fortnight. 

Such  an  instance  of  quick  and  comprehensive  com- 
position seems  little  short  of  marvellous.  It  shows 
that  the  writer  had  his  material,  consciously  or  un- 
consciously, well  in  hand.  It  reflects  also  his  extra- 
ordinary memory  for  names,  dates  and  facts.  In 
surprisingly  few  cases  did  it  prove  necessary  for 
him  to  fortify  his  recollection  from  memoranda  or 
by  consultation  with  friends  and  acquaintances. 

The  book,  however,  was  not  altogether  composed 
within  two  weeks.  As  Dr.  Jordan  wrote,  his  mem- 
ories branched  in  many  directions,  and  the  result 
was  that  a  number  of  additional  chapters  were 
eventually  produced.  The  volume  stands,  neverthe- 
less, as  a  remarkable  example  of  rapid  writing,  done 
with  exceptional  facility,  considering  that  the  au- 
thor's professional  training  has  been  chiefly  along 
other  lines.  It  bears  testimony,  accordingly,  to  his 
intellectual  versatility. 


PREFACE 

Dr.  Jordan's  musical  career  has  been  unusual  if 
not  unique  in  the  breadth  of  its  interests.  He  has 
achieved  success  as  a  singer,  teacher,  conductor 
ana  composer.  A  great  host  of  trained  singers  have 
gone  forth  from  his  studio,  and  his  influence  is  trace- 
able to-day  in  their  technical  accomplishments.  He 
has  given  them  more  than  technique,  indeed.  He 
has  imparted  to  them  something  of  his  own  mental 
and  temperamental  equipment,  a  rich  gift. 

After  fifty  years  of  professional  life,  Dr.  Jordan 
remains  as  devoted  to  his  art  as  ever,  as  keenly  in- 
terested in  its  progress,  and  as  kindly  and  sympa- 
thetically disposed  to  his  fellow  men.  His  heart  is 
young,  and  his  youthful  spirit  is  attested  in  his  keen 
eye  and  unfurrowed  brow. 

Mindful  of  over-edited  volumes  of  this  sort,  from 
which  the  evidences  of  individuality  have  been  large- 
ly eliminated,  either  by  the  author  himself  or  by  a 
too-cautious  adviser,  I  have  preferred;  in  reading  the 
manuscript  of  this  book,  to  minimize  my  advisory 
functions.  I  have,  however,  urged  the  author  to 
make  a  frank  statement  of  his  professional  satisfac- 
tions and  successes,  as  a  matter  of  record.  It  would 
be  excessive  modesty,  indeed,  for  Dr.  Jordan  to  omit 
entirely  from  the  story  of  his  life  the  telling  of  his 
triumphs.  That  he  has  not  set  them  all  down  those 
who  know  him  best  will  bear  witness. 

Surely  in  the  preface  to  his  book  we  his  friends 
may  offer  him  our  best  wishes  for  a  long  continuance 
not  only  of  the  "happenings"  but  of  the  happiness 
of  his  musical  life. 

HENRY  R.  PALMER 
January  1,  1922. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     MY  PROGENITORS 9 

II     MEMORIES   OF   BOYHOOD        ....  11 

III  HOW  I  CAME  TO  PROVIDENCE       ...  14 

IV  GRACE  CHURCH  DAYS 17 

V     CREATING  THE  TITLE  PART  IN 

BERLIOZ'S  "FAUST" 21 

VI     FIRST   PERFORMANCE    OF    GOUNOD'S 

"REDEMPTION" 26 

VII     THE    ARION    CLUB 30 

VIII     HOW  I  BEGAN  TO  COMPOSE  MUSIC    .         .  39 

IX     THE  POWER  OF  SIMPLE  SONGS    ...  44 

X     CHORUS  WORK  NEAR  AND  FAR     ...  48 
XI     MY  EXPERIENCE  WITH  TEACHERS 

ABROAD 51 

THE  STORY  OF  A  DISCOVERY        ...  56 

THE  STORY  OF  AN  HONORARY  DEGREE     .  64 

THE   ADVANTAGE   OF  DAILY  LESSONS      .  68 

HOW  I  GIVE  A  SINGING  LESSON    ...  71 

TREATMENT  OF  THE  FEMALE  VOICE        .  74 

A   SINGER'S   SELF-DEVELOPMENT         .         .  78 

THE   RESTORATION   OF   A   VOICE                  .  83 

The  Development  of  a  Voice     ....  86 

Two    Hopeless    Cases 87 

XIX     A  WELL-REMUNERATED   SERVICE        .         .  89 

XX     ARION    CLUB    MEMBERS          ....  92 

XXI     ARION    REHEARSALS 106 

XXII     A  FAMOUS  SINGING  TEACHER       .                  .  109 

XXIII  "RIP    VAN    WINKLE" 112 

XXIV  GOLDEN   MOMENTS 117 

XXV     MUSICAL    CELEBRITIES    I   HAVE   MET        .  122 

XXVI     MORE   CELEBRITIES 130 

XXVII     IN  LONDON  AND   ELSEWHERE      .                  .  136 

XXVIII     PRESS  AND  PUBLIC 139 

XXIX     SOME  SUCCESSFUL  PUPILS     .         .         .         .142 

XXX     VARIED  MEMORIES 148 

XXXI     MY    HORSES 160 

XXXII     A  TRIBUTE   TO   THE    ORCHESTRA        .         .166 

XXXIII     VERSES                                                                         .  168 


CHAPTER   I 

MY    PROGENITORS 

AS  A  MATTER  of  record  it  may  be  well  for  me  to 
set  down  at  the  beginning  some  facts  concerning 
my  forebears. 

My  father,  his  father  and  I  believe  his  grandfather 
were  all  born  at  the  old  Jordan  homestead  in  Greene, 
Rhode  Island.  The  family,  I  have  been  told,  espe- 
cially the  male  part  of  it,  was  of  a  wayward  inclina- 
tion until  the  transforming  influence  of  religious 
experience  changed  both  my  father  and  grandfather, 
and  I  can  remember  them  each  only  as  a  power  for 
good,  enjoying  the  respect  of  everyone. 

When  my  father  was  a  young  man,  his  father  began 
to  move  "up  stream,"  so  to  speak,  settling  first  in 
Moosup,  Connecticut,  and  later  proceeding  to  Willi- 
mantic.  It  was  a  large  family,  my  father  being 
the  eldest  of  eight  children.  All  I  believe  were  mu- 
sical, three  or  four  besides  Father  having  fine  voices. 
Father  first  married  Miss  Nancy  Kenyon,  who  bore 
him  three  children,  VanBuren,  George  and  Nancy. 
Their  mother  dying  when  Van,  as  we  called  him,  was 
about  eight  years  old,  Father  was  soon  after  married 
to  my  mother,  Susan  Beckwith,  a  direct  descendant 
from  Captain  Isaac  Beckwith  of  New  London,  who 
was,  as  I  learn  from  the  published  genealogy  of  the 
Beckwith  family,  the  man  who  built  the  first  ship  that 


10  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

was  ever  built  in  New  London.  My  mother,  of  saintly 
character,  was  but  moderately  musical,  I  believe,  and 
all  or  pretty  nearly  all  of  the  musical  talent  of  our 
unusually  musical  family  came  from  my  father  and 
his  mother,  who,  before  she  married,  was  Hannah  Cap- 
well  of  Rhode  Island.  Father  was  class  leader,  choir 
leader  and  in  fact  I  have  been  told  a  leader  in  many 
other  of  the  affairs  of  the  newly  organized  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Willimantic. 

Ten  children  were  born  to  my  mother,  eight  of  whom 
are  living  at  the  present  time,  the  other  two  having 
died  in  infancy.  These  eight,  with  her  three  step- 
children, she  succeeded  in  rearing  and  the  family  was 
ever  as  one,  ready  to  sing,  work  or  play  together.  I 
am  sure  that  it  used  to  seem  strange  to  the  others,  as 
it  did  to  me,  that  Grandfather  Jordan  could  not  "carry 
a  tune!"  We  of  course  had  a  great  respect  for  him, 
but  I  think  we  should  have  had  more  if  he  could  have 
sung  with  us.  Grandmother  used  to  listen  to  us 
though,  with  rapt  attention.  I  can  see  her  now,  a 
gentle,  refined  woman,  with  most  beautiful  hands,  and 
nails  at  which  as  a  boy  I  used  to  look  admiringly,  won- 
dering what  made  them  so  shapely  and  rosy. 

While  Father  lacked  education,  some  one  had  taught 
him  an  old-fashioned  sol  fa  method  of  reading  music 
which  used  at  first  to  amuse  and  afterward  to  interest 
me,  but  when  I  asked  him  to  teach  it  to  me  he  was  "too 
busy"  and  I  was  left  to  teach  myself,  which  I  did  be- 
fore I  was  ten  years  old,  for  I  could  not  be  satisfied 
merely  to  sing  "up  and  down."  I  felt  instinctively 
that  there  must  be  some  method  by  which  one  could  be 
absolutely  certain,  and  I  as  a  boy  found  it.  I  shall 
refer  to  this  later. 


JULES  JORDAN 
At  about  the  age  of  fifteen 


CHAPTER   II 

MEMORIES    OF    BOYHOOD 

I  WAS  BORN,  one  of  twins,  on  Nov.  10,  1850,  in 
Willimantic,  Connecticut.  There  the  family  lived 
till  I  was  about  four  years  old,  when  we  removed  to 
the  nearby  town  of  Bolton,  where  my  father,  who  was 
a  stone  mason  and  contractor,  was  engaged  on  the 
building  of  the  Bolton  reservoir  dam. 

The  work  being  finished,  we  returned  to  live  in  Wil- 
limantic, which  place  I  have  always  called  my  home. 
About  the  first  of  my  musical  remembrances  is  that 
my  twin  brother  Julian  and  I  were  taken  when  we  were 
between  four  and  five  years  old  to  sing  at  an  entertain- 
ment held  in  the  Universalist  church  in  Bolton.  What 
or  how  we  sang  I  do  not  remember ;  all  I  recall  is  that 
we  each  had  a  pretty  dress  with  a  small  palm-leaf  pat- 
tern. Then  I  remember  hearing  my  father  sing  about 
the  house.  When  we  returned  to  Willimantic,  Julian 
and  I  were  soon  in  demand  as  youthful  singers  and 
again  I  remember  our  singing  at  another  church 
entertainment  and  this  time  I  remember  the  song.  It 
was  "Some  Folks"  and  began  "Some  folks  have  gray 
hairs,  some  folks  do,  some  folks  do.  Brooding  o'er 
their  cares,  but  that's  not  me  nor  you,"  pointing  to 
ourselves  and  to  each  other  and  making  mistakes  in 
the  pointing  that  I  remember  convulsed  the  audience. 
Thus  we  sang  along  through  childhood,  my  voice  being 

11 


12  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

a  contralto  and  Julian's  the  same,  I  suppose,  though 
they  used  to  call  him  a  tenor,  more  to  distinguish  him, 
I  presume,  than  anything  else.  My  own  voice,  I  re- 
member, was  considered  quite  remarkable  for  a  boy's, 
so  that  ere  long  I  was  invited  to  go  to  Hartford  to  sing 
in  a  choir,  but  for  some  reason  I  did  not  go. 

When  I  was  about  ten  years  old  the  Willimantic 
Camp  Meeting  was  established  and  as  my  father  had 
much  to  do  with  this  and  was  especially  interested  in 
the  choir  that  was  formed,  I  used  to  sing  there  and  I 
recall  that  I  would  be  surrounded  by  groups  of  people, 
some  of  whom  would  always  offer  me  money  when  the 
singing  was  over.  Sometimes  I  would  take  it  and  some- 
times I  would  not,  according  to  my  mood. 

I  used  to  steal  away  from  the  Sunday  school  and  go 
up  into  the  choir  loft  of  the  church  to  "pick  out"  tunes 
on  the  cabinet  organ  there,  always  trying  to  make 
at  least  two  parts.  My  father,  happening  once  to  come 
into  the  audience  room  below,  heard  .me  doing  this 
and  when  I  went  home  my  mother  said :  "Julius,  your 
father  heard  you  playing  'Joyfully,  joyfully,'  and  he 
thinks  that  some  day  you  may  become  a  musician." 
This  pleased  me,  for  I  always  had  a  great  respect  for 
Father's  opinion,  especially  about  music. 

Finally  my  voice  began  to  change  and  I  could  not  be 
induced  even  to  try  to  sing,  for  it  sounded  strange  and 
unnatural,  and  I  did  not  enjoy  it.  My  refusal  to  sing 
was  ascribed  to  a  boyish  obstinacy  but  I  was  let  alone 
until,  a  year  or  two  after,  I  demurely  crept  into  the 
choir  and  began  to  sing  a  little.  Immediately  the 
leader,  Harry  L.  Wilson,  who  had  been  one  of  my  best 
friends,  looked  quickly  at  me  and  said:  "What!  A 
nice  tenor!"  I  hardly  knew  what  he  meant,  but  I  saw 
by  his  manner  that  he  approved  and  I  was  pleased. 
Soon  after  this  W.  A.  Potter,  who  afterward  removed 


MEMORIES    OF    BOYHOOD  13 

to  Providence  and  became  in  time  an  excellent  musi- 
cal critic  and  writer  for  the  Providence  Journal, 
came  a-wooing  to  Willimantic,  the  object  of  his  woo- 
ing being  Miss  Addie  Hall,  the  daughter  of  Amos 
Hall,  who  gave  me  my  first  lessons  in  music.  She  had 
a  beautiful  soprano  voice,  so  beautiful  that  I  used  to 
listen  to  her  as  though  she  were  an  angel.  Mr.  Potter, 
happening  to  hear  me  sing,  asked  me  to  join  in  a 
male  quartette  and  I  essayed  the  first  tenor  part  in 
"On  a  bank  two  roses  grew"  but  with  poor  success, 
I  thought,  for  my  voice  was  hardly  settled  and  cer- 
tainly not  equal  to  sustaining  so  high  a  part.  Soon 
after  this,  Mr.  Potter,  who  had  charge  of  a  choir  in 
old  Norwich  Town,  where  he  lived  and  where  Miss 
Hall  had  been  engaged  as  soloist,  asked  me  to  join 
his  choir.  I  made  one  attempt,  but  it  was  so  unsatis- 
factory, to  me  at  least,  that  I  would  not  try  again. 


CHAPTER    III 

HOW   I   CAME   TO   PROVIDENCE 

TT  HAPPENED  IN  this  wise:  During  the  last  winter 
•*•  of  my  schooling  in  Willimantic,  which  town  was  not 
far  from  our  farm,  I  learned  to  operate  the  telegraph. 
This  was  when  I  was  about  eighteen.  I  found  occa- 
sional employment  as  an  operator,  now  and  then  sub- 
stituting in  near-by  towns  for  a  year  or  so,  but  the  next 
summer  my  father  told  me  that  he  should  need  my 
help  on  the  farm  and  though  I  felt  a  call  elsewhere, 
reluctantly  I  consented.  One  hot  day,  after  a  long 
search  for  a  stray  cow — which  by  the  way  I  found  and 
brought  home — my  father,  to  whom  I  delivered  the 
animal,  said:  "There's  a  telegram,  for  you  in  the 
house."  I  found  that  it  was  from  Henry  C.  Bradford, 
the  manager  of  the  Western  Union  office  in  Provi- 
dence, who  asked  me  to  take  charge  of  the  summer 
office  in  the  then  large  hotel  at  Rocky  Point.  I  carried 
the  telegram  out  to  Father,  who  was  putting  up  the 
cow.  He  looked  at  it  and  said:  "Do  you  want  to  go?" 
"Yes,"  said  I.  "Very  well,"  he  replied,  "You  may." 
Next  morning  he  gave  me  five  dollars  and  I  packed  a 
little  grip  case  and  started  for  Providence.  I  was  met 
here  by  Mr.  Bradford,  who  took  me  at  once  to  his 
house  on  Point  street,  where  I  passed  the  night.  Next 
morning  we  went  to  Rocky  Point,  where  I  remained  till 
the  office  was  closed  at  the  end  of  the  season. 

14 


D.  W.  REEVES 
Leader  of  the  American  Band  of  Providence  for  many  years 


HOW  I  CAME  TO  PROVIDENCE  15 

It  was  at  Rocky  Point  that  I  first  heard  any  real 
music.  D.  W.  Reeves  with  his  famous  American  Band 
was  engaged  there  for  every  day  in  the  season  and  the 
playing  of  the  band  was  a  revelation  to  my  young  mind 
and  to  my  ears  as  well.  I  found  after  a  few  days  that 
there  was  an  opportunity  for  me  to  make  some  extra 
money  by  checking  small  articles  that  excursionists 
wanted  to  leave  with  me  for  safekeeping.  Getting 
permission  from  the  proprietor,  each  day  I  gathered 
quite  a  sum,  and  saving  this  I  soon  had  seventy-five 
dollars,  which  I  took  to  Mr.  Reeves,  asking  him  to  buy 
me  a  cornet  with  it,  as  I  wished  to  take  lessons  of  him. 

So  I  began  lessons,  getting  up  early  each  morning 
and  going  far  from  the  hotel  among  the  rocks  and  trees 
to  practice.  At  the  close  of  the  season  Mr.  Bradford 
informed  me  that  he  would  open  a  telegraph  office  in 
the  old  City  Hotel  in  Providence,  and  there  he  installed 
me  as  operator.  One  day  after  I  had  been  in  this  office 
a  short  time,  I  met  on  the  street  near  the  hotel  Rev. 
Edgar  F.  Clarke,  who  was  then  the  pastor  of  the 
Mathewson  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Mr. 
Clarke  had  been  the  pastor  of  the  Willimantic  Metho- 
dist Church  several  years  before,  and  of  course,  as  that 
was  the  church  of  our  family,  he  knew  me.  Surprised 
at  seeing  me  in  Providence,  he  asked  if  I  had  made  any 
acquaintances  and  invited  me  to  his  house  that  veiy 
evening,  saying  that  the  young  people  of  his  church 
with  their  friends  were  to  have  a  party  there.  I  ac- 
cepted his  invitation  and  during  the  evening  Mr. 
Clarke,  remembering  my  boyish  voice,  asked  me  to 
sing  a  song.  Having  no  printed  song  with  me,  I  sat 
down  at  the  piano  and  sang  the  first  thing  that  came  to 
my  mind,  Webster's  "Sweet  Bye  and  Bye."  This 
seemed  to  please  the  company  and  presently  one  of 
the  young  men,  George  Chase,  came  to  me,  saying  that 


16  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

he  liked  my  voice  and  that  if  I  would  come  with  him 
to  Grace  Church,  where  he  sang  in  the  chorus  choir, 
the  next  day,  when  a  service  would  be  held  at  five 
o'clock,  he  would  introduce  me  to  the  organist,  who 
was  looking  for  a  tenor. 

The  next  day  (Good  Friday)  I  went  to  the  evening 
service,  when  Mr.  Chase  introduced  me  to  L.  T. 
Downes,  the  organist.  The  choir  in  Grace  Church  at 
that  time  was  placed  in  a  loft  directly  opposite  the 
chancel.  At  the  first  opportunity  that  offered,  Mr. 
Downes  began  a  whispered  conversation  with  me  and 
asked  repeatedly  if  I  could  read  music  at  sight.  This 
I  could  do,  as  I  had  taught  myself  when  ten  years  of 
age.  Finally  Mr.  Downes  brought  to  me  a  book,  say- 
ing :  "Here  is  an  anthem  that  we  have  always  sung  on 
Good  Friday  ever  since  I  came  to  Grace  Church/' 
(which  was  when  Bishop  Clarke  came  here  from  Hart- 
ford). "But  as  we  have  no  tenor  for  the  solo  in  the 
anthem  I  had  decided  not  to  sing  it  today.  See  if  you 
can  read  it."  I  saw  that  it  was  not  difficult  and  as- 
sured him  that  I  could.  "Very  well,"  said  he,  "we  will 
sing  it."  I  sang  the  solo  at  sight,  to  his  satisfaction, 
and  he  at  once  asked  me  to  come  to  his  house  that 
evening.  "If  you  are  what  I  think  you  are,"  he  added, 
I  can  get  this  place,  (the  position  as  tenor  soloist  in 
Grace  Church  choir)  for  you."  I  sang  for  the  com- 
mittee the  Sunday  following  that  Easter  and  was  im- 
mediately engaged ;  and  I  held  the  engagement  for  over 
twenty  years. 

Thus  I  came  to  Providence  without  a  thought  of 
making  music  a  profession,  but  happily  the  profession 
found  me,  a  fact  that  I  have  never  had  reason  to 
regret. 


RT.  REV.  DAVID  H.  GREER,  D.  D. 

Formerly   rector   of   Grace    Church,    Providence, 

and  later  Bishop  of  New  York 


CHAPTER     IV 
GRACE    CHURCH    DAYS 

SOON  AFTER  joining  the  Grace  Church  choir,  the 
organist,  Mr.  Downes,  said  to  me  one  day:  "Your 
voice  is  not  as  good  as  it  was;  what's  the  matter?" 
"Oh,"  I  replied,  "it  is  probably  because  I  do  not  sleep 
enough."  "How's  that?"  he  asked.  "Why,  I  get  up 
early  to  practice  and  I  stay  up  late  for  the  same  pur- 
pose." "Practice?  practice  what?"  "I'm  taking  cor- 
net lessons  of  Mr.  Reeves  and  I  have  to  practice  to 
keep  up  in  my  lessons."  "Cornet!"  (scornfully).  "You 
don't  want  to  learn  the  cornet!  you  should  take  piano 
lessons."  "But  I  haven't  a  piano  and  if  I  had  I've  no 
place  to  put  one." 

Mr.  Downes  arranged  with  the  vestrymen  at  Grace 
Church  to  allow  me  the  use  of  one  of  the  small  Sunday- 
school  rooms.  I  then  hired  a  piano  and  began  lessons 
with  Mrs.  Downes,  who  was  of  inestimable  assistance 
to  me.  She  gave  me  her  beautiful  touch  and  with  it 
much  wholesome  advice,  and  her  influence  over  me 
was  most  beneficial.  I  began  to  improve  and  to  play 
selections  that  she  gave  me  in  a  way  that  must  have 
pleased  my  young  friends,  for  some  of  them  asked  me 
to  give  them  lessons  and  insisted,  so  that  ere  long  I 
had  a  small  class  of  beginners. 

About  this  time,  Mr.  Bradford,  being  short  of  oper- 
ators at  the  Western  Union,  took  me  from  the  City 

17 


18  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

Hotel,  where  I  had  had  much  leisure,  to  the  main 
office,  where  I  had  not  a  moment  to  myself.  I  knew 
that  I  could  not  keep  on  improving  in  my  music  with- 
out more  time  for  practice  than  this  new  arrangement 
afforded  me,  so,  after  due  deliberation,  I  gave  up 
telegraphing  and,  having  secured  a  few  more  begin- 
ners on  the  piano,  I  managed  to  get  along  with  what 
the  lessons  yielded  me  and  my  salary  at  Grace  Church. 
I  now  had  plenty  of  time  to  practice  and  plenty  of 
time  to  sleep,  and  so  my  playing  improved  and  my 
singing  as  well. 

I  hadbeen  going  along  in  this  comfortable  way  for  a 
year  or  more,  when  Mr.Downes  advised  me  to  attend 
a  summer  school  of  music  that  was  to  be  held  in  East 
Greenwich  for  a  few  weeks.  Most  of  the  teachers  came 
from  the  Eben  Tourjee  Conservatory  of  Boston,  after- 
ward the  New  England  Conservatory.  There  were 
in  the  faculty  Carl  Zerrahn,  Charles  N.  Allen,  George 
W.  Whiting,  J.  C.  D.  Parker,  George  L.  Osgood  and 
others. 

Mr.  Downes  particularly  wanted  nle  to  study  sing- 
ing with  Mr.  Osgood,  who  had  but  just  returned  from 
study  with  the  elder  Lamperti  in  Italy.  I  had  always 
followed  the  advice  of  so  good  a  friend  as  I  had  found 
Mr.  Downes  to  be,  and  was  glad  to  go  to  East  Green- 
wich, where  I  began  real  vocal  lessons  for  the  first 
time.  I  believe  that  I  made  rapid  improvement  and 
was  told  so  by  those  who  heard  me,  but  Mr.  Downes. 
having  been  made  unhappy  on  account  of  Osgood's 
criticisms  concerning  his — Downes's — vocal  knowl- 
edge, advised  me  to  discontinue  my  studies.  This  I 
was  loath  to  do  and  after  the  close  of  the  school  con- 
tinued with  my  lessons,  going  to  Boston  for  them. 
This  and  other  reasons  finally  caused  a  break  in  my  re- 
lations with  Mr.  Downes  and  I  left  Grace  Church, 


GRACE  CHURCH  DAYS  19 

joining  at  once  a  quartette  choir  in  the  First  Univer- 
salist  Church,  where  I  was  made  leader,  much  against 
my  wishes,  the  second  year  of  my  engagement.  Mean- 
while Mr.  Downes  had  resigned  from  Grace  Church 
and  after  a  few  months  of  unsettled  conditions  there 
Dr.  David  H.  Greer,  the  rector,  who  had  always  been 
a  firm  friend  of  mine,  sent  for  me  to  return  to  my 
Grace  Church  position,  asking  me  to  take  full  charge 
of  the  choir  as  well. 

This  I  hesitated  to  do  as  I  had  had  none  of  the 
requisite  training  or  experience.  I  was  finally  per- 
suaded, however,  and  got  a  choir  together  and  re- 
hearsed it.  But  I  had  no  satisfactory  organist.  What 
was  I  to  do!  Fortunately  on  the  Friday  afternoon 
preceding  my  first  Sunday  with  the  new  choir  Albert 
Stanley  appeared  in  Providence,  applied  to  me  for 
the  position  of  organist,  and  (without  rehearsal) 
played  for  the  service,  which  was  carried  through  with- 
out a  flaw  and  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  everyone. 
Mr.  Stanley  and  I  worked  together  in  perfect  accord 
until  he  was  called  to  take  charge  of  the  music  depart- 
ment at  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor, 
where  he  has  since  remained. 

The  success  that  followed  the  new  Grace  Church 
choir  of  course  stimulated  the  public's  interest  in  my 
eiforts  and  resulted  in  an  ever-increasing  business  for 
me  as  a  teacher  of  singing.  Indeed  so  rapidly  did 
my  singing  class  increase  that  I  was  obliged  to  devote 
my  entire  time  and  attention  to  it,  discontinuing  the 
piano  lessons  I  had  been  giving. 

I  had  also  discarded  the  cornet  much  to  the  dis- 
appointment of  Mr.  Reeves,  who  thought  at  first  that  I 
had  made  a  mistake.  He  afterward  was  among  the 
first  to  acknowledge  that  I  had  done  wisely  and  I 
cannot  let  the  opportunity  here  presented  pass  without 


20  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

paying  my  tribute  of  admiration  to  the  memory  of  so 
fine  a  musician  and  so  whole-souled  a  man  as  was 
"Wally"  Reeves,  beloved  by  everyone  who  knew  him 
and  one  whose  great  loss  to  the  community  has  never 
been  made  good. 


CHAPTER     V 
CREATING  THE  TITLE   PART  IN  BERLIOZ'S  "FAUST" 

GEORGE  L.  OSGOOD  of  Boston,  with  whom  I  was 
studying  singing,  had  organized  the  Boylston 
Club,  a  choir  of  mixed  voices  that  began  to  give  each 
year  a  series  of  choice  concerts  with  works  of  Pales- 
trina,  Mozart,  Franz,  Rheinberger  and  many  other  of 
the  modern  composers.  I  was  invited  to  join  this  choir 
and  did  so,  singing  with  it  at  several  of  its  concerts. 
It  was  then  that  I  learned  to  appreciate  and  love  choral 
music.  I  sang  solos  at  several  of  these  concerts.  I  also 
began  to  sing  in  various  other  concerts  and  I  gave  in 
Providence  three  Schubert  song  recitals  about  this 
time,  presenting  at  the  first  the  entire  cycle  of  the 
Miller  songs,  at  the  second  the  "Winter's  Journey" 
and  at  the  third  the  "Swan  Songs."  These  recitals 
gave  me  more  than  a  local  reputation  and  they  were 
followed  by  recitals  for  three  seasons  at  the  Newport 
Casino,  which  were  well  attended  by  critical  audiences. 
Coming  from  Newport  to  Providence  on  the  boat 
one  afternoon,  a  pupil  of  mine,  Dr.  A.  E.  Ham  of 
Providence,  fell  into  conversation  with  me,  asking  if 
I  would  direct  a  small  choir  of  singers  who  desired  to 
practice  part  songs.  I  consented  and  soon  we  began 
rehearsals  in  the  chapel  of  Grace  Church.  These  were 
attended  with  much  success  and  soon  the  room  was 
wont  to  be  filled  with  visitors,  who  demanded  that  we 

21 


22  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

give  a  concert.  The  club  was  christened  the  "Arion." 
We  organized  on  a  business  plan  at  the  outset  and 
thus  began  the  existence  and  career  of  the  Arion  Club, 
about  which  more  will  follow. 

An  old  friend,  Rev.  George  E.  Reed,  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Willimantic  at  the 
time  I  left  that  place  for  Providence,  called  on  me 
one  day  when  passing  through  Providence.  He  was 
living  then  in  Stamford,  Connecticut,  and  being  well 
pleased  to  find  that  I  had  improved  my  time  and  had 
learned  to  sing  he  invited  me  to  pay  his  family  a  visit 
the  coming  summer.  While  in  Stamford  I  met  some 
prominent  musical  people  from  New  York  and  fortu- 
nately gained  the  interest  of  a  leading  New  York 
family,  that  of  Judge  Henry  Howland.  Mrs.  How- 
land  was  a  pianist  of  the  first  rank,  though  she  called 
herself  only  an  amateur.  She  played  for  me  and  was 
interested  enough  in  my  singing  to  invite  me  to  their 
house  in  New  York  when  the  season  should  open. 

I  returned  to  Providence  happy  tha,t  I  had  made  so 
many  new  friends  but  had  nearly  forgotten  that  I  was 
to  be  invited  to  New  York  when  there  came  a  letter 
from  the  Howlands  fixing  the  time  of  my  visit. 

Of  course  I  met  the  appointment.  I  found  that  plans 
had  been  made  for  me  to  meet  many  of  New  York's 
musical  people,  and  dinner  parties  and  musicales  fol- 
lowed each  other  closely  all  through  the  week. 

The  evening  before  my  departure  for  home  the 
Howlands  were  dining  alone  for  the  first  time,  I  think, 
since  my  coming  among  them.  Judge  Howland  asked 
his  wife  if  she  was  satisfied  with  what  she  had  been 
able  to  do  toward  making  me  known.  "Yes,"  said  she, 
"only  I  am  greatly  disappointed  that  Dr.  Damrosch 
hasn't  been  able  to  come  and  I  wanted  his  opinion  more 
than  any  one's."  "Well,"  said  Judge  Howland,  "why 


JULES  JORDAN  IN  1880 

About  the  time  he  sang  in  the  first  American  production 
of  Berlioz's  "Faust" 


BERLIOZ'S  "FAUST"  23 

not  start  an  hour  earlier  in  the  morning  and  call  on 
him ;  he  lives  but  two  blocks  above  the  Grand  Central 
Station."  We  did  so.  Dr.  Damrosch  came  to  the  door 
himself  at  our  ring.  He  was  very  cordial  to  Mrs. 
Rowland  but  when  she  told  him  her  errand  he  eyed  me 
curiously  and  took  out  his  watch,  saying:  "I  am  giving 
a  lesson,  but  I  can  spare  three  minutes." 

Mrs.  Rowland  looked  at  me  and  smiled.  We  passed 
inside.  Dr.  Damrosch  took  a  seat  resignedly  beside 
his  pupil.  Mrs.  Rowland  went  to  the  piano  and  I 
began  a  Rubinstein  song.  This  finished,  Dr.  Damrosch 
asked  for  another  and  yet  another.  He  then  asked  if  I 
knew  the  " Messiah."  I  sang  "Comfort  Ye"  and 
"Every  Valley."  He  then  came  to  the  piano,  saying: 
"I  want  to  try  his  voice  to  determine  its  range."  That 
morning  it  seemed  that  there  was  no  limit  to  what  I 
could  do,  and  I  sang,  in  all,  more  than  half  an  hour. 

At  the  conclusion  he  thanked  Mrs.  Rowland  for 
bringing  me  to  him,  took  my  address  and  said  that  I 
should  soon  hear  from  him.  I  came  home  to  Prov- 
idence happy  because  I  had  made  more  friends,  but  had 
again  nearly  forgotten  all  about  it  when  a  letter  came 
from  Dr.  Damrosch  asking  me  to  sing  the  part  of 
"Faust"  in  Berlioz's  "La  Damnation  de  Faust,"  which 
he  was  preparing  with  the  New  York  Oratorio  Society, 
together  with  the  New  York  Arion  Society  and  the 
Philharmonic  Orchestra,  to  produce  at  Steinway  Hall, 
New  York.  This  was  in  1880.  I  knew  nothing  about 
the  work  but  was  so  delighted  at  the  invitation  that 
I  wrote  at  once  accepting.  In  a  day  or  two  I  received 
a  letter  from  Dr.  Damrosch  with  a  manuscript  copy 
of  the  part  written  in  the  doctor's  peculiar  German 
hand  and  without  accompaniment.  I  saw  that  it  was  a 
long  and  very  difficult  part  and,  written  in  this  way,  I 
could  get  but  a  faint  idea  of  it  and  wrote  Dr.  Damrosch 


24  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

saying  so.  He  replied  that  the  work  had  been  trans- 
lated and  was  in  press  and  said  that  he  would  send  a 
copy  as  soon  as  possible.  I  could  not  wait  for  this 
but  ordered  at  once  a  French  copy. 

When  it  came  I  was  astounded  at  the  difficulties  of 
the  part  and  wrote  at  once  asking  Dr.  Damrosch  to  be 
released  from  my  promise  to  sing  it.  Then  followed 
several  letters  of  encouragement  from  him  and  I  began 
to  study  the  part  in  earnest.  I  was  progressing  but 
slowly  when  one  day  I  happened  to  see  in  the  New 
York  Herald  an  announcement  of  the  first  perform- 
ance in  America  of  Berlioz's  "Faust"  with  my  name 
for  the  title  role. 

To  say  that  my  heart  went  down  and  out  at  my  feet 
but  feebly  expresses  what  I  felt,  but  I  went  immedi- 
ately to  a  telegraph  office  and  wired :  "Please  take  my 
name  out  of  the  paper;  cannot  sing  Faust."  A  sharp 
letter  from  Dr.  Damrosch  followed.  He  should  hold 
my  letters  as  a  contract.  I  need  not  fear,  he  knew 
better  than  I  what  I  could  do.  I  must  come  to  him  and 
he  would  show  me  how  he  wanted  it  sung.  Most 
fatherly  and  kind,  though  he  would  hold  me  to  my 
word. 

After  I  had  the  work  pretty  well  in  hand  I  went 
to  New  York  and  there  at  Dr.  Damrosch's  house  with 
Franz  Remmertz,  who  sang  the  part  of  Mephisto,  we 
began  to  work  together.  I  found  in  it  an  inspiration 
that  made  it  easy  for  me  to  surmount  all  difficulties. 
No  one  could  possibly  be  kinder  than  was  Dr.  Dam- 
rosch or  more  helpful  and  companionable  than  Rem- 
mertz. There  were  some  amusing  things  that  happened 
at  these  rehearsals  occasionally,  though  for  the  most 
part  the  time  was  filled  with  serious  study.  For  in- 
stance, in  the  work  there  occur  at  one  place  in  the 
part  of  Mephisto  the  words:  "Come,  let  us  listen  to 


DR.  LEOPOLD  DAMROSCH 
First  Conductor  of  the  Metropolitan  Opei-a,  New  York 


BERLIOZ'S  "FAUST"  25 

our  cooing  doves."  Remmertz  pronounced  this  line  as 
follows :  "Come,  let  us  leesten  to  our  cawing  tawves." 
At  this  Damrosch  glanced  sharply  at  me  and  saw  me 
smiling.  Immediately  he  exclaimed,  "Remmertz,  Rem- 
mertz, dot  iss  not  'cawing  tawves'  (with  a  rising  in- 
flection), but  it  iss  cawing  tawves  (a  falling  inflec- 
tion) ."  At  this  I  burst  out  laughing  and  they  joined 
me  heartily. 

Things  went  on  thus  happily  till  finally  we  were 
summoned  to  Steinway  Hall  for  rehearsals  with  the 
orchestra.  We  had  them  each  morning  for  three  or 
four  days.  It  was  in  the  month  of  February.  Stein- 
way  Hall  seemed  to  have  no  provision  for  warmth  and 
I  sat,  well  wrapped  up  to  be  sure  but  chilly  withal. 
I  felt  that  I  was  taking  cold  and  went  to  Dr.  Dam- 
rosch about  it.  He  was  frightened.  They  had  worked 
up  a  tremendous  interest  about  the  coming  perform- 
ance, which  was  to  take  place  in  three  days,  and  I  was 
the  only  singer  in  the  country  that  knew  the  part. 
He  sent  word  to  Mrs.  Howland,  who  took  me  home  and 
had  me  attended  by  the  family  physician,  Dr.  Draper. 
He  succeeded  in  keeping  the  cold  from  my  vocal  chords, 
but  I  had  a  high  fever  and  was  consequently  weak; 
yet  in  this  condition  I  sang  in  that  memorable  first  per- 
formance. There  was  one  compensation,  however;  I 
was  too  ill  to  be  nervous.  I  had  dreaded  the  perform- 
ance on  that  score,  but  I  seemed  to  have  no  nerves  and 
but  little  voice,  though  I  afterward  sang  the  work  at 
my  best. 


CHAPTER     VI 

FIRST  PERFORMANCE  OF  GOUNOD'S  "REDEMPTION" 

I  HAVE  MENTIONED  in  the  last  chapter  the  fact 
that  I  had  the  honor  of  creating  the  part  of  "Faust" 
in  Berlioz's  "La  Damnation  de  Faust"  at  its  first  pro- 
duction in  America,  at  Stein  way  Hall,  New  York,  in 
1880.  Another  first  performance  of  a  famous  oratorio, 
"The  Redemption,"  by  Gounod,  was  given  in  Boston,  a 
year  or  two  after,  if  I  remember  correctly.  Joseph 
Lennon,  a  well  known  musician  of  Boston,  was  at  that 
time  the  conductor  of  the  Boston  Oratorio  Society, 
composed  for  the  most  part  of  singers  belonging  to 
the  various  Catholic  Church  choirs  of  the  city.  Mr. 
Lennon  conceived  the  very  laudable  plan  of  giving  with 
his  Catholic  singers  a  first  performance  of  this  sacred 
work  of  a  most  eminent  Catholic  musician.  There  was 
a  great  interest  aroused.  I  had  recently  sung  at  an 
important  concert  in  Boston  with  Theodore  Thomas 
conducting  and  that  gave  me  the  chance  to  sing  in  the 
Gounod  performance. 

A  final  rehearsal  was  appointed  in  Music  Hall  and 
everything  promised  well.  I  had  made  an  exhaustive 
study  of  the  part,  for  the  first  time  doing  without 
coaching  or  teaching,  for  I  had  reached  the  conclusion 
that  if  there  was  anything  in  me  of  originality,  it  was 
time  that  I  found  it  out.  Shortly  before  this  I  had 
come  to  a  question  about  the  production  of  my  voice  in 

26 


GOUNOD'S  "REDEMPTION"  27 

the  middle  register  and  needed  advice.  In  my  studies 
I  found  that  there  were  two  distinct  ways  of  tone  pro- 
duction beginning  at  about  "b,"  first  space  above  the 
bass  clef.  This  tone  I  could  make  with  all  its  reson- 
ance felt  forward  in  the  mouth  but  without  much  firm- 
ness, or  I  could  make  it  firmly  with  a  feeling  of  depth. 
I  asked  my  teacher  one  day  which  was  correct,  singing 
the  "b"  both  ways,  one  after  the  other.  He  seemed 
to  listen  carefully  and  then  said :  "They  are  both  alike." 
"But,"  said  I,  "how  can  that  be,  when  the  feeling  of 
each  is  as  different  as  black  and  white  are  different  to 
my  vision?"  "Oh,  you  imagine  it,"  was  his  reply. 
Thus  left  to  my  own  decision  I  thought  that  the  for- 
ward feeling  tone  must  be  the  correct  one  because 
I  felt  nothing  in  my  throat,  while  sustaining  it;  and 
though  I  had  to  change  the  feeling  before  I  could  pro- 
duce the  higher  tones,  still  I  was  afraid  that  the  feel- 
ing deep  in  my  throat  when  using  the  other  method  of 
production  must  be  wrong  simply  because  I  did  feel 
something  in  my  throat,  so  I  was  careful  to  sing  all 
these  middle  tones  feeling  them  forward  in  the  mouth 
only. 

The  Redemption  begins  with  page  after  page  of 
recitative,  the  reciting  note  being  this  same  "b"  men- 
tioned above.  I  found  that  when  I  sang  this  "b"  with 
the  forward  feeling  tone  I  would  tire  before  I  had 
reached  the  second  page.  Trying  then  the  other  tone 
I  discovered  that  I  did  not  tire  at  all  and  that  the 
more  I  used  it  the  better  it  became.  Here  then  I  had 
found  the  true  answer  to  my  question  as  to  which  was 
correct.  I  sang  day  after  day  in  my  studies  the  entire 
long  role  and  never  felt  the  least  fatigue;  and  when- 
ever I  have  sung  the  Redemption  I  have  found  my 
audiences  appreciative  not  only  of  my  voice  but  of 
my  rendering  of  the  many  recitatives.  I  remember 


28  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

that  at  the  first  rehearsal  with  orchestra  the  director, 
Mr.  Lennon,  came  to  me  when  it  was  time  for  the 
other  tenor  soloist,  (there  being  in  the  work  some  short 
but  beautiful  passages  alloted  to  a  second  voice,  that 
of  the  Penitent  Thief,  while  the  main  tenor  solo  portion 
of  the  oratorio  is  allotted  to  the  part  of  the  Narrator) , 
saying:  "The  other  tenor  does  not  want  to  undertake 
this  Penitent  Thief  solo;  will  you  sing  it?"  "Why, 
what's  the  matter?"  I  will  not  give  his  answer,  but  I 
was  not  sorry  to  undertake  the  added  task,  for  the 
tenor  melody  beginning  "Wilt  Thou  remember  me"  is 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  solos  and  I  had  been  re- 
gretting all  along  that  it  was  not  in  my  part. 

Another  incident  of  that  rehearsal  comes  to  mind  as 
I  write.  One  of  the  other  soloists,  an  Englishman, 
came  to  me  after  the  rehearsal  with  prodigious  com- 
pliments and  finished  up  by  saying:  "But,  you're  not 
an  American!"  I  protested  that  I  was.  He  went  on 
to  say  that  he  never  had  heard  an  American  sing  as 
well.  Possibly,  however,  he  had  o^ily  just  arrived 
in  America,  for  there  were  many  American  tenors  at 
that  time  with  far  better  voices  than  mine,  but  because 
I  had  studied  every  accent  and  inflection  of  the  words 
of  my  part  and  had  confidence  at  last  in  the  use  of  my 
voice  I  sang  the  role  with  all  its  appealing  pathos  as 
naturally  as  I  possibly  could,  and — it  pleased. 

I  must  not  forget  to  say  that  the  importance  of  this 
first  performance  had  aroused  some  opposition  on  the 
part  of  another  and  older  singing  society  in  Boston 
that  I  suppose  coveted  the  honor  of  a  first  American 
production.  At  any  rate  an  injunction  was  put  on  the 
performance  because  of  some  irregularity  about  the 
use  of  the  orchestral  parts,  I  believe,  and  the  work 
after  some  postponement  was  finally  given  in  the  Bos- 


GOUNOD'S  "REDEMPTION"  29 

ton  Theatre  and  with  only  the  accompaniment  of  two 
grand  pianos! 

One  other  incident  in  connection  with  this  and  sub- 
sequent performances  may  not  be  thought  out  of  place. 
Ivan  Mowrowski,  himself  an  excellent  artist  who  sang 
the  bass  Narrator's  part  at  several  Redemption  per- 
formances, evidently  liked  my  singing  of  the  tenor 
parts,  for  on  more  than  one  occasion  when  I  was 
walking  along  the  street  in  Boston  I  heard  a  voice 
somewhere  behind  me  saying:  "No  one  ever  sang  the 
Redemption  as  well  as  you  did,"  and  each  time  it 
was  the  voice  of  Mr.  Mowrowski.  A  compliment  from 
such  a  source  was  one  to  be  proud  of  and  should  this 
meet  his  eye  he  will  know  that  I  appreciated  it. 


CHAPTER     VII 
THE  ARION  CLUB 

IN  RECORDING  the  history  of  the  Arion  Club  with 
which  I  have  been  associated  since  its  organization 
I  can  do  no  better,  it  seems  to  me,  than  to  take  advan- 
tage of  an  account  that  appeared  in  connection  with 
its  fortieth  anniversary  in  1921  in  the  Providence 
Journal.  This  account  by  one  of  the  Journal's  staff  is 
so  well  and  accurately  written  that  I  can  endorse  it 
unqualifiedly.  Here  it  is : 

Neither  jazz  nor  moving  pictures  are  admired  by 
Dr.  Jules  Jordan.  Both  are  false  quantities,  he  main- 
tains, and  although  both  have  their  apologists  who 
claim  that  they  add  zest  to  living,  Df.  Jordan  declares 
that  his  life  without  either  has  been  zestful  and  ad- 
venturous beyond  the  aspirations  of  most  men.  The 
veteran  conductor  of  the  Arion  Club  is  celebrating  his 
40th  anniversary  with  Providence's  leading  musical 
society  this  year  and  the  club's  concert  at  Infantry 
Hall  next  Tuesday  evening  will  be  the  club's  tribute 
to  the  man  who  made  it. 

Four  decades  spent  as  impresario,  conductor,  coach, 
singer,  business  manager  and  soother  of  many  a 
cruelly  torn  temperament  is  not  only  a  career  but  a 
career's  reward,  declared  Dr.  Jordan  recently  in  an 
hour's  talk  in  which  he  recalled  the  past  of  the  Arion 
Club,  its  members,  its  guests,  its  triumphs  and  its 

30 


THE  ARION  CLUB  31 

perils.  The  Arion  Club  was  founded  on  the  love  or 
music  and  has  prospered  always  because  it  attracted 
singing  and  acting  talents  which  found  complete  com- 
pensation in  creating  music.  Dr.  Jordan  is  proud  of 
the  club  and  proud  of  his  work  as  its  director  but  is 
proudest,  perhaps,  in  his  knowledge  that  he  has  not 
earned  a  penny  from  his  40  years  connection  with  the 
organization.  He  has  conducted  every  concert  of  the 
Arion's  long  and  imposing  list. 

Early  in  the  winter  of  1880  a  group  of  Providence 
singers,  wishing  to  learn  more  about  the  art,  met  in- 
formally at  Grace  Church  chapel,  and  sang  part  songs. 
They  progressed  so  rapidly  that  friends  and  music 
lovers  became  interested.  On  nights  when  the  singers 
gathered  for  their  evening  of  song  they  found  an 
audience  awaiting  them.  The  audience  grew  to  such 
proportions  that  the  singers  decided  the  city  had  music 
lovers  enough  to  support  a  big  choral  club.  This  was 
the  inception  of  the  Arion  Club.  Shortly  after  its  for- 
mation Dr.  Jordan  arranged  a  programme  of  songs  for 
public  recital. 

The  first  concert  was  given  at  the  building  now 
occupied  by  the  Providence  Boys'  Club,  which  was  then 
known  as  the  Amateur  Dramatic  Hall  and  which,  later 
as  the  Talma  Theatre,  witnessed  the  rise  of  The 
Players.  The  concert  was  held  on  Feb.  16,  1881,  and 
drew  a  large  crowd.  The  programme  consisted  wholly 
of  part  songs  and  included  the  lieder  of  the  masters 
Schubert,  Schumann,  Mendelssohn,  Rheinberger  and 
Rubinstein. 

Dr.  Jordan  conducted  and  Robert  Bonner,  the  club's 
first  President,  played  the  viola  in  the  supporting  or- 
chestra. The  event  brought  forth  congratulations  for 
the  chorus,  praise  for  the  conductor  and  his  musicians 
and  support  from  many  influential  people,  who  imme- 


32  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

diately  grasped  the  value  of  such  an  organization  ot 
musicians  in  the  social  life  of  the  city. 

Luck  attended  the  club's  infant  days  and  powerful 
support  was  given  Dr.  Jordan  in  his  plans  by  the  late 
Colonel  William  Goddard  and  the  late  Bishop  David 
Hummel  Greer,  who  was  at  that  time  rector  of  Grace 
Church.  Without  these  men,  Dr.  Jordan  declares,  the 
achievements  of  the  Arion  Club  would  have  been  im- 
possible. Colonel  Goddard  had  an  extremely  powerful 
and  an  unusually  fine  bass  voice,  and  he  sang  with 
the  club  in  many  of  its  concerts.  He  was,  besides,  a 
keen  adviser,  whose  combined  gifts  of  musician  and 
business  man  were  much  to  the  club's  advantage.  His 
support  and  that  of  Bishop  Greer  were  invaluable  at 
many  a  period  of  storm  and  stress.  At  one  time  an 
apparent  slackening  of  interest  was  noticeable  in  the 
membership,  and  in  the  public,  also.  It  was  suggested 
at  one  of  the  rehearsals  that  the  club  disband,  and 
only  the  encouragement  of  Bishop  Greer  and  his  in- 
sistence that  the  organization  should  hold  together 
saved  the  day. 

Arionites  were  lucky  in  the  calibre  of  their  officers. 
The  roster  of  Presidents  included  the  names  of  Robert 
Bonner,  the  late  Colonel  William  Goddard,  the  late 
Johns  H.  Congdon,  H.  N.  Campbell,  Jr.,  the  late  Emery 
Russell,  Horace  F.  Carpenter  and  George  A.  Jepher- 
son. 

During  its  40  years'  existence  it  has  given  more  than 
150  concerts.  The  list  of  its  guest  singers  would 
shatter  the  shade  of  Oscar  Hammerstein  and  bring 
grief  to  the  heart  of  Signor  Gatti.  Among  the  so- 
pranos who  appeared  at  Arion  Club  concerts  were 
Mmes.  Marcella  Sembrich,  Nellie  Melba,  Lillian  Nor- 
dica,  Emma  Juch  and  Clara  Louise  Kellogg.  Its 
famous  tenors  were  the  incomparable  Italo  Campanini, 


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THE  ARION  CLUB  33 

Edward  Lloyd  and  the  two  remarkable  Welsh  artists, 
Ben  Davies  and  Evan  Williams,  who  made  his  first 
appearance  as  an  oratario  singer  with  the  Arion  Club 
in  Haydn's  "The  Creation." 

The  famous  contraltos  who  sang  under  Dr.  Jordan's 
direction  included  such  women  as  Mme.  Clara  Butt, 
Gertrude  Edmands,  Mme.  Mielka  and  Fursch  Madi. 
Herbert  Witherspoon,  Emilio  Gogorza,  Emil  Fischer, 
Fred  Martin  and  Myron  Whitney,  all  bassos,  appeared 
with  the  club  in  oratorio  and  opera. 

After  eight  years  of  public  appearances  in  song 
programmes  exclusively  the  club  ventured  into  the 
realm  of  oratorio  with  "Elijah."  The  audiences  of 
the  '80s  and  the  early  '90s  were  keen  appreciators  of 
the  oratorio  as  a  musical  art  form  and  demanded  them, 
the  old  ones  and  the  new  ones,  and  then  demanded 
them  again.  The  club  sang  all  the  standard  oratorios 
at  one  time  or  another.  Looking  back  through  the  long 
stretch  of  years  Dr.  Jordan  finds  that  "The  Messiah'' 
was  always  the  club's  favorite  offering  and  always  the 
oratorio  for  which  the  public  was  willing  to  open  its 
purse. 

Even  classic,  familiar,  time-honored  oratorios  can- 
not meet  every  need  and  Dr.  Jordan  introduced  the 
works  of  Sir  Edward  Elgar  to  the  Providence  public. 
The  first  production  of  Elgar's  setting  of  Cardinal 
Newman's  "The  Dream  of  Gerontius"  created  a  taste 
for  this  Englishman's  works  and  "King  Olaf," 
"Comus,"  "Caractacus"  and  "The  Apostles"  followed 
in  due  order.  Later  Pierne's  "Children's  Crusade" 
and  Caesar  Frank's  "The  Beatitudes"  were  sung 
by  the  Arion  forces.  While  rehearsing  the  ora- 
torios of  the  modern  composers,  Dr.  Jordan  discovered 
that  these  men,  although  rarely  reaching  the  heights 
of  Handel  and  Haydn,  brought  a  new  quality  of  voice 


34  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

into  the  form,  a  quality  which  necessitated  more  fre- 
quent practice  by  the  singers. 

Since  the  club  existed  on  subscriptions  and  turned 
its  profits  into  club  improvements  and  expansion  it 
was  early  decided  that  the  Arion  Club  would  be  a 
Providence  organization  and  would  serve  only  Provi- 
dence audiences.  Only  on  one  occasion  did  the  Arion- 
ites  sing  outside  of  the  city.  In  1894  they  journeyed 
to  Pawtucket,  where  they  gave  Dr.  Jordan's  patriotic 
ballad  "Barbara  Frietchie,"  in  the  old  Pawtucket  Au- 
ditorium. This  piece,  which  was  scored  for  soprano, 
chorus  and  orchestra,  was  dedicated  to  Lillian  Nordica 
by  the  composer. 

When  it  was  decided  to  give  the  "Barbara  Frietchie" 
in  Providence,  Dr.  Jordan  was  determined  on 
having  Mme.  Nordica  sing  the  soprano  part.  She  was 
singing  at  Mechanics'  Hall  in  Boston  and  he  called  on 
her  there.  Nordica  was,  according  to  Dr.  Jordan,  an 
incomparable  and  most  conscientious  artist,  but  a  woe- 
fully poor  reader.  When  he  interviewed  her  she  was 
extremely  hoarse  because  of  overwork  occasioned  by 
too  many  appearances.  She  did,  however,  promise  to 
come  to  Providence  and  assured  Dr.  Jordan  that  she 
would  telegraph  about  the  condition  of  her  voice  the 
night  before  the  Providence  performance. 

Nordica's  coming  was  awaited  with  the  keenest  in- 
terest by  the  public  and  with  anxiety  by  the  Arion 
Club's  conductor.  Came  the  morning  of  the  concert 
and  no  word  from  the  diva.  At  11  o'clock  Dr.  Jordan 
sent  a  telegram  to  Mme.  Emma  Juch's  manager,  beg- 
ging him  to  send  her  on  as  Nordica's  substitute.  The 
New  York  prima  donna  was  located  at  a  market  near 
her  home  and  had  to  race  for  a  train  to  come  to  Provi- 
dence. She  came,  read  the  part  and  everything  was 
ready  for  the  concert. 


THE  ARION  CLUB  35 

Everything,  that  is,  but  Dr.  Jordan's  delicate  task 
of  telling  a  crowded  house  that  Mme.  Juch  would  sing 
in  place  of  the  adored  Nordica.  As  bravely  as  he 
could  the  conductor  faced  the  crowd  and  made  his 
announcement.  Displeasure  was  expressed  immedi- 
ately, not  boisterously,  but  unmistakably,  and  Mme. 
Juch  advanced  to  sing  to  the  coldest  audience  in  the 
club's  history.  When  she  finished  the  audience  rose 
to  its  feet  in  applause  for  a  true  artist  and  a  courageous 
woman. 

Of  all  the  great  singers  of  the  past  Dr.  Jordan  is 
frank  in  reserving  his  greatest  admiration  for  Nordica. 
His  career  as  a  musician  and  his  experiences  as  con- 
ductor of  the  Arion  Club  led  him  into  the  great 
soprano's  path  repeatedly.  It  was  Nordica  who  sang 
his  "Jael"  at  the  Worcester  Festival,  and  it  was  Nor- 
dica who  brought  down  the  rage  of  Nellie  Melba  on 
his  head. 

The  Arion  Club  once  gave  a  special  series  of  con- 
certs and  Nordica  and  Melba  were  billed  on  two  sep- 
arate programmes.  Nordica  sang  on  the  first  pro- 
gramme, which  bore  an  announcement,  at  the  bottom, 
that  Melba  would  be  the  assisting  artist  at  the  next 
concert.  When  Melba  arrived  in  Providence  she  saw 
a  copy  of  the  Nordica  programme  and  was  incensed 
at  finding  her  name  below  that  of  her  rival.  She 
called  her  manager,  Ellis,  into  her  apartment  at  the 
Narragansett  Hotel  and  gave  him  a  pyrotechnical  ex- 
hibition of  what  one  woman  can  do  to  half  a  dozen 
languages.  Passion  was  torn  to  shreds  when  Dr.  Jor- 
dan arrived,  just  as  the  famous  Nellie  was  demanding 
the  head  "of  this  Jordan  person."  After  repeated 
sparring  and  soothings  he  got  the  Australian  song- 
bird into  a  condition  where  she  was  willing,  and  able, 
to  look  at  the  offending  programme.  It  had  the  prices 


36  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

of  both  concerts  printed  on  it  and  Melba's  concert 
prices  were  higher  than  those  charged  for  Nordica's, 
and  so  was  vengeance  gained  and  art  saved  for  the 
audience. 

But  Melba  at  her  top  highest  could  not  compete  with 
Italo  Campanini,  the  tenor  brother  of  that  Cleofante, 
the  conductor,  who  once  charmed  Metropolitan  audi- 
ences. Italo  was  "a  first  chop"  tenor,  and  he  knew  it. 

The  Arion  Club  was  giving  George  Chadwick's 
"Phoenix  Expirans"  and  Dr.  Jordan  secured  Cam- 
panini, Nordica,  Del  Puente  and  Mme.  Campbell  for 
the  quartet.  He  heard  them  sing  it  in  Boston  shortly 
before  the  Providence  production  and  the  performance 
was  a  bit  ragged.  Dr.  Jordan  insisted  on  a  rehearsal 
and  three  singers  arrived  for  it,  but  Signer  Italo  was 
not  among  them.  As  the  concert  approached  the  tenor 
learned  that  his  number  was  to  follow  a  long  choral 
piece.  He  objected  and  his  woes  attracted  a  crowd  in 
the  corridor  of  Infantry  Hall.  "Who.  maka  dat  pro- 
gramme?" he  demanded  of  Dr.  Jordan.  "I  did. 
What's  the  matter  with  it?"  replied  the  conductor. 
"Me,  Campanini!  I  nevair  sing  secon'  number." 
"You'll  sing  one  to-night  if  you  sing  at  all!  Do  you 
understand  that?"  When  Dr.  Jordan  told  the  furious 
tenor  that  no  singing  meant  no  money  a  peace  parley 
was  arranged  and  Campanini,  acknowledging  defeat, 
served  his  art  well  and  gathered  unto  himself  the 
golden  ducats. 

The  history  of  the  Arion  Club,  its  service  to  the 
community,  its  inspiration  to  young  singers,  all  form 
the  reward  of  Dr.  Jordan's  labors.  He  says  he  is  as 
interested  in  the  club  today  as  he  was  in  the  part- 
time  song  days  of  the  '80s  and  his  enthusiasm  for  the 
production  of  Donizetti's  "The  Daughter  of  the  Regi- 
ment" next  Tuesday  evening  bears  out  his  words. 


THE  ARION  CLUB  37 

Perhaps  the  most  significant  thing  about  Dr.  Jor- 
dan's 40  years  of  directorship  and  about  the  man  him- 
self is  revealed  in  his  action  in  inducing  the  club 
members  to  turn  the  profits  of  the  next  performance 
over  to  Mary  lacovino,  the  young  Warren  mill  girl, 
who  will  sing  the  part  of  Maria. 

Dr.  Jordan  is  old  in  the  service  of  music  and  his 
young  soprano  is  just  beginning.  But  because  she 
has  a  voice  of  golden  promise  and  is  handicapped  by 
the  daily  need  of  earning  her  own  living,  the  Arion 
Club's  conductor  is  dedicating  his  night  of  triumph 
to  the  young  soprano's  future. 

"Forty  years'  work,"  said  Dr.  Jordan,  "is  amply  paid 
for,  is  more  than  paid  for,  by  the  discovery  of  a  voice 
such  as  Mary  lacovino's.  No  Forty-niner  ever  found 
such  a  nugget  as  I  have  found  in  this  singer.  The 
years  are  worth  all  the  labor,  all  the  disappointments, 
and  the  pleasant  things  are  enriched  enormously  by 
the  promise  of  this  girl's  voice." 

When  a  man  reaches  this  degree  of  love  for  music, 
40  years  seem  all  too  short  a  time  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  such  prodigies  and  music  lovers  everywhere 
will  bow  in  admiration  to  Dr.  Jordan  as  he  hands  his 
laurels  over  to  his  admired  young  singer. 

The  Journal  account  ends  here,  but  I  wish  to  add 
the  names  of  those  distinguished  accompanists  whose 
assistance,  given  in  every  case  cordially  and  without 
remuneration,  has  lightened  my  labors  as  only  another 
in  my  place  could  appreciate.  They  have  my  thanks 
and  the  knowledge  that  an  intelligent  public  has  always 
realized  their  sacrifices  in  behalf  of  the  cause  and 
appreciated  them  as  I  do.  They  are  in  order  of  time 
as  follows :  John  H.  Mason,  Albert  Stanley,  Nathan  B. 
Sprague,  Mme.  Avis  Bliven  Charbonnel,  Miss  Harriet 


38  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

Mansir,  Ralph  Kinder,  Miss  Helen  Hogan,  Miss 
Eleanor  Schofield,  George  H.  Pickering,  Miss  Bertha 
Woodward  and  Miss  Edna  Mathewson.  I  also  wish  to 
add  to  the  long  list  of  works  mentioned  by  the  Journal 
writer  and  to  say  that  we  have  given  many  of  the 
great  operas  (in  concert  form),  Gounod's  "Faust" 
(several  times),  the  same  composer's  "Romeo  and 
Juliet,"  Wagner's  "Flying  Dutchman,"  "Tannhau- 
ser"  and  "Lohengrin,"  Samson  and  Delilah,"  "Aida," 
and  a  vast  number  of  cantatas,  part  songs,  etc.,  etc. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
HOW  I  BEGAN  TO  COMPOSE  MUSIC 

AT  ONE  OF  MY  LESSONS  WITH  George  L. 
Osgood,  my  first  singing  teacher,  he  said: 
"Why  don't  you  write  something;  write  a  song."  I 
told  him  that  there  were  several  reasons — first,  that 
I  had  never  studied  composition ;  then,  too,  while  I 
could  possibly  invent  and  write  down  a  melody  that 
I  never  would  do  so  till  I  could  harmonize  it  cor- 
rectly; and  there  was  yet  another  reason,  that  I 
should  probably  be  so  dissatisfied  with  it  all  that  I 
would  be  sorry  I  had  written  it.  "You'll  get  over 
that  some  day,"  said  he. 

After  I  had  studied  in  Paris,  my  mind  being 
pretty  well  satisfied  about  a  method  of  singing  I 
began  to  study  harmony  and  theory,  not  with  the 
intention  of  writing  music  but  simply  as  a  part  of  my 
musical  education.  I  found  it  a  rough  and  thorny 
road  however,  so  barren  indeed  that  I  never  once 
had  the  desire  to  write  anything  but  exercises.  When 
I  had  been  studying  a  year  or  more,  there  came  from 
New  York  at  the  instance  of  Miss  Kellogg  a  young 
lady,  Miss  G — ,  to  study  singing.  She  came  regu- 
larly each  week  and  on  one  visit  she  asked  me  to  sing 
a  little  song  which  Mrs.  Kellogg  had  told  her  to  be 
sure  to  ask  for.  I  told  her  it  was  so  simple  that  it 
was  really  not  worth  while,  but  she  insisted  and  I 

39 


40  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

complied.  It  was  a  song  that  I  had  picked  up  some- 
where, the  words  being  the  old  "Ninety  and  Nine." 
Mrs.  Kellogg  had  a  great  liking  for  such  simple 
melodies  and  had  remembered  this  one.  I  used  to 
sing  it  with  an  accompaniment  of  my  own  contriving. 
The  song  pleased  Miss  G —  so  much  that  she  asked 
me  to  give  it  to  her.  But  I  had  no  copy.  "Can't  you 
make  one  for  me?"  she  asked.  I  did  so  and  was  so 
pleased  with  the  look  of  it,  especially  with  my  own 
arrangement  of  accompaniment,  that  a  few  days 
after,  when  reading  in  a  book  of  Shelley's  poems  I 
came  upon  his  "Love's  Philosophy"  and  began  to 
sing  it  to  an  impromptu  melody,  I  at  once  wrote 
the  latter  down  with  some  simple  chords.  It  lay  on 
my  piano  day  by  day  and  as  opportunity  offered  I 
would  elaborate  the  accompaniment  and  now  and 
then  I  would  sing  the  song  to  pupils  and  friends. 
Soon  after  this  I  was  called  upon  by  Mr.  Rhodes, 
the  choir  master  of  St.  Stephen's  Episcopal  Church, 
of  Providence.  He  had  come  to  see  if  it  would  be 
convenient  to  receive  Mr.  Frank  Potter  of  New  York, 
who,  being  in  Providence  for  medical  treatment, 
had  been  singing  solos  at  St.  Stephen's.  He  said  that 
Mr.  Potter  had  heard  me  sing  in  the  "Faust"  per- 
formances in  New  York  and  wanted  to  meet  me. 
Mr.  Potter  was  the  brother  of  Bishop  Potter  of  New 
York  and  had  himself  been  the  music  critic  of  the 
New  York  Herald  at  the  time  of  the  "Faust"  per- 
formances. I  found  him  to  be  most  genial,  a  fine 
singer  and  an  unusually  fine  reader.  We  had  had 
an  enjoyable  half  hour  when  he  happened  to  see  on 
the  piano  my  new  song,  "Love's  Philosophy." 
"What's  this,  a  new  song!"  he  exclaimed.  "Let's  try 
it."  He  sang  it  well,  reading  it  at  sight  perfectly. 


HOW  I  BEGAN  TO  COMPOSE  MUSIC  41 

"That's  a  fine  song,"  said  he,  "why  haven't  you  sent 
it  to  a  publisher?"    "Oh,  a  publisher  wouldn't  look 
at  it;  it's  one  of  mine!"   "You  ought  to  be  proud  of 
it;  let's  try  it  again.    I  tell  you  it  is  a  good  song. 
Send  it  to  Schirmer  and  say  that  I  told  you  to  do 
so,"  said  he.    He  insisted  so  earnestly  and  so  long 
that  I  promised  to  acquiesce.    After  a  day  or  two  I 
mailed  the  song  to  New  York  but  with  many  mis- 
givings. In  two  or  three  days  I  received  a  letter  with 
a  check  enclosed  from   Schirmer  saying:   "If  you 
have   any   more  songs   as  good   as  this  send  them 
along."    This  of  course  was  encouraging  and  inspir- 
ing, and  I  wrote  several,  Schirmer  taking  them  all. 
I  was  at  that  time  singing  in  church  in  Boston  and 
having  three  or  four  songs  with  me  one  day,  when 
calling  at   A.   P.   Schmidt's  music   store,   I   showed 
them  to  him  and  before  I  had  left  the  store  he  had 
bought  them  all.  Then  I  thought  I  would  retain  what 
I  might  write  and  gather  them  in  an  "album,"  so 
after  I  had  written  ten  songs  I  took  them  to  New 
York  with  a  very  definite  idea  as  to  what  I  wanted 
to  do  with  them.   I  went  directly  to  Schirmer's  early 
one  morning  and  asked  to  see  Mr.  Rudolf  Schirmer, 
with  whom  I  had  previously  dealt.   He  was  expected 
every  moment  and  I  sat  down  to  wait  for  him.   Soon 
a   clerk   came   to  me,   saying:   "Mr.   Schirmer   has 
sprained  his  ankle  and  won't  be  down,  but  we  have 
told  him  that  you  are  here  and  he  would  like  you  to 
come  to  him."    I  went,  finding  him  with  his  foot 
lifted  into  a  chair.   He  greeted  me  cordially,  saying : 
"Why  didn't  you  let  us  have  that  song  Schmidt  has 
just  put  out,  'There,  Little  Girl,  Don't  Cry'?"  I  ex- 
plained as  best  I  could  and  said :  "But  Mr.  Schirmer, 
I  have  ten  more  here."   "Have  you?  All  right,  we'll 


42  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

take  them  at  the  same  terms  as  the  others."  Schirmer 
had  always  paid  me  for  each  song  as  I  sent  it.  "No," 
said  I,  "I  want  you  to  take  these  on  a  royalty  basis 
and  I  want  them  brought  out  in  album  form."  "We 
have  no  royalty  accounts  excepting  with  Dudley 
Buck  and  Harry  Rowe  Shelley,"  he  answered.  "With 
all  others  we  pay  cash."  "Then  I'm  afraid  I  shall 
have  to  take  them  elsewhere."  He  quickly  rang  a 
small  bell  that  was  on  the  table  beside  him  and  when 
a  servant  came  he  told  him  to  open  the  folding  doors 
of  the  room  and  roll  in  the  piano.  He  then  asked  me 
to  sing  the  songs,  which  I  did,  whereupon  he  agreed 
to  my  terms  and  I  left  in  a  happy  frame  of  mind. 

I  wrote  much  after  that,  too  much  I  am  sure,  but 
Schirmer  would  take  everything,  good,  bad  and  in- 
different. Other  publishers,  too,  found  some  of  my 
songs  worth  their  attention  and  with  added  exper- 
ience I  began  to  write  anthems,  part  songs,  etc.,  and 
finally  wrote  one  summer  a  romantic  opera  "Rip 
Van  Winkle,"  with  which  the  "Bostonians"  played 
a  lucrative  engagement  in  Providence. 

I  think  that  I  can  modestly  claim  to  be,  for  the 
most  part,  self  taught  in  this  art,  though  I  have  had 
some  assistance  and  more  good  advice.  For  instance, 
while  I  was  singing  as  I  did  one  year  with  George 
W.  Chadwick's  choir  in  Boston  I  asked  him  to  give 
me  lessons  in  counterpoint.  Said  he,  (in  effect), 
"You  don't  need  them;  all  you  need  is  to  write, 
write,  write.  That's  the  best  schooling!" 

Then,  again,  a  friend  of  mine  told  me  one  day  that 
she  was  studying  the  piano  with  McDowell.  "Will 
you  take  a  message  to  him  for  me?"  said  I.  "Cer- 
tainly, what  is  it?"  "Ask  him  if  he  will  receive  me 
as  a  pupil  in  counterpoint."  I  saw  her  the  next 


HOW  I  BEGAN  TO  COMPOSE  MUSIC  43 

week.  "What  did  McDowell  say?"  "He  said  that 
you  didn't  need  lessons;  he  had  seen  your  music 
and  it's  all  right!"  Soon  after  this  I  went  "incog- 
nito," so  to  speak,  and  succeeded  in  getting  lessons 
from  Mr.  Percy  Goetchius,  a  great  teacher  of  a  great 
art. 

I  presume  that  all  those  who  compose  have  been 
asked  how  they  do  it.  I  have  been  asked  that 
question  many  times.  I  never  "try"  to  write  music. 
I  just  do  so  when  I  feel  the  impulse,  which  I  often 
try  to  resist  but  usually  in  vain.  I  write  whenever 
and  wherever  the  impulse  comes  to  me — on  a  train 
or  trolley,  at  night  sometimes,  when  I  awake,  at  the 
piano  or  away  from  it,  though  I  always  prove  what 
I  write  by  using  the  piano. 

It  has  been  an  unfailing  joy  but  I  have  found  even 
greater  satisfaction  in  scoring  for  the  orchestra,  as 
the  opportunity  thus  afforded  kindles  the  fancy  and 
a  comparatively  simple  piano  score  will  elaborate 
itself  quite  surprisingly  when  scoring  for  orchestra. 
I  say  all  this  with  the  most  modest  feelings  of  what 
my  efforts  in  this  direction  may  have  been  worth  but, 
what  I  have  said  may  be  of  some  interest  to  those 
who  may  read  it. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  POWER  OF  SIMPLE  SONGS 

I  HAVE  MENTIONED  in  previous  chapters  the 
good  fortune  that  followed  my  singing  of  sim- 
ple songs  on  two  occasions  and  there  are  a  third  and 
a  fourth  occasion  that  I  must  also  mention.  The  third 
was  when  at  one  time,  on  a  summer  vacation,  I  vis- 
ited the  hotel  at  the  summit  of  Mount  Washington. 
There  were  present  some  people  from  Providence 
with  whom  I  was  acquainted  and  who  asked  me  to 
sing.  Among  other  pieces  I  sang  the  simple  hymn 
"Pass  me  not,  O  gentle  Saviour."  A  year'  or  two 
afterward  some  one  called  on  me  to  say  that  the 
night  before  he  had  heard  an  address  given  to  the 
prisoners  at  the  Rhode  Island  State  Prison  by  a  re- 
formed man,  one  who  had  long  borne  a  notoriously 
bad  reputation.  In  his  address  he  attributed  his  con- 
version to  my  singing  of  that  hymn  at  the  top  of 
Mount  Washington.  This  man  afterward  became 
widely  known  as  the  "Prisoner's  Friend."  He  has 
long  since  passed  to  his  rest  and  his  reward. 

Let  me  now  mention  the  fourth  case,  for  it  led 
to  my  acquaintance  with  a  Rhode  Island  family 
whose  influence  has  been  for  many  years  to  me  an 
inspiration  and  a  benefit  beyond  my  power  of  expres- 
sing. 

In  the  days  when  I  used  to  sing  with  the  Grace 

44 


THE  POWER  OF  SIMPLE  SONGS  45 

Church  choir  in  Providence,  on  every  Good  Friday 
at  both  morning  and  evening  service  I  sang  a  song  of 
Schumann's,  "Das  Alte  Lied,"  for  which  our  organist, 
Albert  Stanley,  had  arranged  the  words  of  a  hymn 
"O  Sacred  Head."  This  became  a  great  favorite  in 
the  church  and  especially  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Greer, 
who  would  always  remind  me  that  they  expected  it 
on  Good  Friday.  Indeed,  I  think  that  it  became  a 
feature  of  those  services  and  attracted  some  persons 
to  the  church  who  were  not  accustomed  to  worship 
there. 

One  day  after  I  had  sung  this  hymn  I  received  a 
very  cordial  and  friendly  letter  from  Mrs.  Rowland 
Hazard  expressing  her  appreciation  and  thanks  for 
the  good  she  had  derived  from  my  singing  of  the 
beautiful  words.  A  day  or  so  after  that  I  was 
called  upon  by  Miss  Caroline  Hazard,  a  daughter 
of  Mrs.  Hazard,  who  said  that  they  wished  to  meet 
me  to  thank  me  again  personally.  Soon  after  this 
members  of  the  Hazard  family,  one  by  one,  began  to 
study  singing  with  me  and  joined  the  Arion  Club. 
The  country  residence  of  the  Hazards  was  and  is  at 
Peace  Dale,  R.  I.  There,  a  few  years  after  the  Arion 
Club  had  started  on  its  career,  Mr.  R.  G.  Hazard,  the 
eldest  son,  together  with  his  sister,  Miss  Caroline 
Hazard,  organized  the  Narragansett  Choral  Society. 
Mr.  Hazard  urged  me  strongly  to  take  charge  of 
their  rehearsals  and  concerts  but  at  that  time  I  was 
extremely  busy  and  felt  that  I  should  not  undertake 
to  go  out  of  town  for  regular  work.  Accordingly  I 
recommended  Nathan  B.  Sprague,  a  young  man  who 
had  succeeded  Albert  Stanley  at  the  organ  in  Grace 
Church  and  who  had  been  playing  for  me  there  and 
also  at  the  Arion  Club  rehearsals.  Mr.  Sprague  was 


46  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

accepted  and  conducted  the  Peace  Dale  rehearsals 
and  concerts  with  admirable  success  for  several 
years  but  finally  left  Providence  and  all  his  activities 
thereabout,  and  Mr.  Hazard  came  again  to  me  say- 
ing, "You  must  come,  to  save  the  situation."  So  I 
went,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  look  of  sorrow  on 
the  faces  of  the  singers  whom  I  met  for  the  first 
time  in  Peace  Dale.  They  had  become  fond  of  Mr. 
Sprague,  for  he  not  only  was  a  good  conductor  but 
he  had  a  genial  personality  that  made  him  many 
friends.  They  did  not  know  me  and  I  suppose  looked 
upon  me  as  something  to  be  borne  with  if  they  were 
to  go  on  with  their  rehearsals.  And  so  began  my  ex- 
perience with  the  Narragansett  Choral  Society,  an 
experience  which  has  continued  without  a  break  ever 
since,  a  period  of  many  years. 

Of  the  splendid  hospitality  and  friendly  interest 
shown  me  by  the  entire  Hazard  family  in  Peace 
Dale,  sometimes  at  Oakwoods,  the  house  of  Row- 
land Hazard,  where  Rowland  Hazard  the  grand- 
son now  lives,  sometimes  at  Holly  Hbuse,  the  home 
of  Mrs.  R.  G.  Hazard,  again  at  "The  Acorns."  the 
lovely  home  of  Mrs.  Helen  Hazard  Bacon,  and  at 
"The  Scallop  Shell,"  the  residence  of  Miss  Caroline 
Hazard,  I  am  never  tired  of  thinking  or  speaking. 
Princely  in  their  appointments,  these  houses  are 
conducted  in  so  simple  a  way  that  guests  are  made 
to  feel  "at  home"  and  "of  the  family"  and  I  am  glad 
and  proud  to  acknowledge  my  great  indebtedness 
for  all  and  to  all. 

The  Narragansett  Choral  Society,  which  at  this 
writing  has  just  closed  its  32nd  year,  has  an  enviable 
record  to  its  credit.  Formerly  of  about  100  members, 
a  stage  was  built  for  its  use  at  rehearsals  and  con- 


THE  POWER  OF  SIMPLE  SONGS  47 

certs  in  the  Hazard  Memorial  Hall,  where  excellent 
performances  have  been  given  of  the  great  choral 
works  "The  Messiah,"  "The  Creation,"  "Elijah," 
"The  Beatitudes,"  by  Caesar  Franck,  some  of  El- 
gar's  works  and  many  another's  besides  a  great 
number  of  part  songs  and  cantatas.  The  value  of 
this  society  to  the  community  is  incalculable  of 
course  and  while  at  present  its  numbers  are  dimin- 
ished by  reason  of  various  and  inevitable  changes, 
still  it  is  continuing  in  as  excellent  performances 
as  ever  and  doubtless  will  regain  its  full  member- 
ship as  the  younger  generation  begins  to  realize 
its  privileges. 


CHAPTER  X 
CHORUS  WORK  NEAR  AND  FAR 

FORMERLY  more  than  at  present,  I  believe,  it 
was  the  custom  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
to  hold  at  certain  seasons  what  were  called  mus- 
ical conventions  that  sometimes  developed  so  that 
they  deserved  a  more  distinctive  title,  that  of  music 
festival.  The  famous  Worcester  Festival  developed 
from  just  such  a  beginning,  I  have  been  told.  Some 
well-known  conductor  would  receive  a  call  from 
some  remote  place  and  going  by  appointment  would 
meet  a  company  of  singers,  young  or  middle  aged, 
determining  what  should  be  taken  up  for  study, 
usually  some  cantata  or  oratorio  if -the  singers  were 
advanced  enough,  this  being  the  chief  work  under- 
taken, which  would  be  supplemented  by  part  songs, 
various  concerted  pieces  for  the  assisting  soloists 
making  programmes  usually  for  two  evening  con- 
certs and  a  matinee.  These  would  all  have  to  be 
learned  in  a  week  or  ten  days,  necessitating  rehear- 
sals every  evening  and  often  more  frequently.  The 
conductor  would  find  his  band  of  singers  eager  and 
willing  to  be  taught,  but  of  course  his  own  labor 
would  be  arduous,  so  that  after  a  few  years  he  would 
discover  that  however  much  he  might  enjoy  it  the 
necessity  of  husbanding  one's  strength  would  cause 
him  to  hesitate  about  accepting  too  many  such  en- 

48 


SOLOISTS  FO-R  THE   LISBON,   N.   H.,   FESTIVAL 
Standing,  left  to  right:  George  W.  Dover,  Harry  G.  H. 

Rawson,  Thomas  Livingston,  William  D.  Stone 

Sitting,  left  to  right:  Miss  Luella  Flagg,  Mrs.  Martha  Dana 

Shepard,  Dr.  Jordan,  Miss  Annie  J.  Moulton,  Miss  Sue  McKay 


CHORUS  WORK  NEAR  AND  FAR  49 

gagements.  At  least  that  is  the  way  I  found  it  to 
be  and  I  have  had  enough  experience  in  such  affairs 
to  warrant  the  expression  of  an  opinion. 

I  went  for  three  or  four  years  each  summer  to 
Claremont,  N.  H.,  where  we  held  a  series  of  success- 
ful concerts,  the  first  being  so  very  successful  and 
engendering  so  much  enthusiasm  that  it  resulted  the 
next  season  in  the  building  of  a  new  opera  house, 
the  old  town  hall  having  proved  to  be  entirely  inad- 
equate to  accommodate  the  overflowing  attendance.  I 
well  remember  an  interesting  circumstance  attend- 
ing the  very  first  rehearsal.    There  was  only  a  fair- 
sized  chorus  present  and  I  observed  that  many  of  the 
young  singers  instead  of  paying  attention  to  me  and 
what  I  might  be  saying  were  having  a  "good  time" 
among  themselves.    I  tried  to  call  them  to  a  sense 
of  their  privilege   and  duties  but  in  vain.    Finally 
I  stopped  the  proceedings  and  said   in   effect:   "If 
there  are  those  here  who  came  for  any  other  purpose 
than  to  study  this  music  we  have  taken  up,  then  the 
sooner  they  leave  the  room  the  better  I   shall   be 
pleased."    A   look   of  surprise,   even   consternation, 
went  around,  but  they  were  quiet  and  attentive  the 
rest  of  the  evening.    At  the  close  of  the  rehearsal 
the  chairman   of  their  convention  committee   came 
to  me  saying:  "You  shouldn't  talk  in  that  way  to  the 
chorus,   for  if  you   do   you   won't  have   a   chorus." 
"Better  have  twenty  wrho  care  to  learn,"  I  replied, 
"than  a  hundred  who  do  not."    The  next  rehearsal, 
it  having  been  reported   outside  what  I  had  said, 
there  was  a  great  influx  of  the  best  singers  in  town 
who  had  never  been  known  to  come  before,  and  we 
had  a  fine  chorus  and  gave  a  series  of  concerts  such 
as  had  never  been  given  previously  and  that  resulted 


50  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

in  the  new  Opera  House.  I  also  went  to  Lisbon,  N.  H., 
two  or  three  years,  in  the  winter,  and  I  greatly  en- 
joyed it,  even  with  the  thermometer  at  23  below,  as 
it  was  one  morning,  I  remember.  In  Burlington,  Vt., 
we  gave  some  fine  concerts  for  two  years  or  more, 
at  one  time  presenting  St.  Saens's  "Samson  and 
Delilah."  We  generally  had  a  pretty  good  orchestra, 
small  but  of  experienced  players.  I  remember,  too, 
the  conventions  that  were  given  under  my  direction 
in  Ludlow  and  Newport,  Vt. 

I  also  went  two  or  three  times  to  Binghamton, 
N.  Y.,  a  beautiful  and  thriving  city,  where  we  had  a 
fine  chorus  and  gave  excellent  concerts,  as  we  did 
also  in  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

Near  home  I  had  for  several  years  a  good  chorus 
at  South  Framingham,  Mass.,  and  another  at  North 
Attleboro,  Mass.,  a  third  at  Willimantic,  Conn.,  my 
birth  place;  and  for  many  years  I  have  been  going 
to  Peace  Dale,  where  the  Narragansett  Choral 
Society  has  had  a  career  scarcely  second  to  that  of 
our  own  Arion  Club  in  Providence. 

I  have  found  in  all  this  much  satisfaction  and 
enjoyment,  even  though  the  work  has  been  stren- 
uous. 

Through  my  acquaintance  with  the  best  of  artists 
all  these  festivals  have  benefited  and  I  have  the  sat- 
isfaction of  knowing  that  many  of  the  friendships 
thus  formed  in  these  various  towns  still  endure. 


CHAPTER  XI 
MY  EXPERIENCE  WITH  TEACHERS  ABROAD 

MY  FIRST  TRIP  to  Europe  was  made  in  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1886.  I  spent  my  time 
till  near  the  end  of  my  vacation  in  sight-seeing,  but 
finally  looked  up  a  number  of  teachers,  including  a 
Mr.  Holland  and  Giro  Pinsuti  the  song  writer,  both 
of  whom  had  been  recommended  to  me.  Then  meet- 
ing my  friend,  J.  C.  Bartlett  of  Boston,  author  of  the 
song  "Last  night  I  was  Dreaming,"  and  finding  that 
he  was  studying  with  an  English  teacher,  Mr.  S., 
I  decided  to  go  to  him  but  my  time  of  leave  had 
nearly  expired  and  I  had  hardly  begun  when  I  had 
to  return  home.  Early  the  next  spring,  however,  I 
started  again  for  London  with  the  single  purpose 
of  study.  I  went  again  to  Mr.  S.  and  studied  faith- 
fully, going  two,  three  and  four  times  a  week  for 
lessons. 

I  wish  that  I  could  say  that  I  improved!  On  the 
contrary  I  lost  all  my  buoyancy  and  with  it  my  inter- 
est and  hopes.  Indeed  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that 
I  would  give  it  all  up  when  one  day  my  teacher 
said :  "You  seem  tired  and  ill ;  why  don't  you  take 
a  little  vacation?"  That  I  was  ready  for  a  vacation 
can  well  be  imagined  and  I  at  once  decided  to  go 
to  Paris.  I  had  expected  to  meet  my  dear  friends 
Clara  Louise  Kellogg  and  her  mother  in  London 

51 


52  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

and  to  make  the  journey  home  with  them.  I  knew 
that  they  were  on  the  way  from  St.  Petersburg, 
where  Miss  Kellogg  had  been  singing,  and  I  knew 
that  they  would  remain  in  Paris  three  or  four  weeks. 
I  would  meet  them  in  Paris,  then,  and  surprise  them. 
This  I  did,  being  at  their  train  when  it  rolled  into 
the  station  in  Paris.  After  cordial  greetings  Miss 
Kellogg  said  to  me,  "I've  heard  all  along  the  way 
from  St.  Petersburg  and  through  Italy  of  a  teacher 
here,  Sbriglia,  with  whom  I  have  made  an  appoint- 
ment to  sing  and  I  want  you  to  go  with  me  to  him 
tomorrow  morning." 

I  had  lost  all  interest  in  singing,  but  because  she 
had  asked  me  I  was  glad  to  go  with  her.  Next 
morning  we  found  the  place,  26  Rue  Provence,  and 
climbed  the  interminable  stairs  to  his  studio.  She 
began  to  sing  and  I  was  much  more  interested  to 
hear  her  voice  again  than  in  anything  a  teacher 
might  tell  her.  But  soon  my  attention  was  arrested 
by  what  they  were  saying  and  I  found  my  interest 
reawakening.  After  the  lesson  and  on  the  way  to 
the  hotel,  Miss  Kellogg  asked  if  I  liked  what  had 
been  said  and  done.-  I  did.  She  said:  "I  don't  think 
that  I  do,  I've  never  heard  anything  like  that  be- 
fore," referring  to  something  that  Sbriglia  had  said 
about  position.  I  replied,  "I  liked  his  way  of  sticking 
to  it;  he  persisted  till  you  did  what  he  wanted." 
"Well,"  said  Miss  Kellogg,"  I  don't  like  it!"  But 
she  went  morning  after  morning  and  I  with  her. 

After  two  or  three  days  I  asked  her  to  tell  him 
that  I  was  a  singer  and  would  like  him  to  hear  me. 
"No,"  she  responded,  "I  don't  think  he  is  the  teacher 
for  you."  Yet  one  morning  she  did  ask  him  to  hear 
me.  He  said  little  to  encourage  me  but  I  had  seen 


SIGNOR  GIOVANNI  SBRIGLIA 
The  famous  singing  teacher  in  Paris 


MY  EXPERIENCE  WITH  TEACHERS  ABROAD        53 

and  heard  enough  to  convince  me  that  he  was  the 
one  who  could  help  me;  besides  I  had  had  the 
advantage  of  hearing  his  instructive  comments  on 
Miss  Kellogg's  singing  and  in  a  day  or  two  she  said : 
"I  never  heard  any  one  improve  as  you  do !"  "Well," 
I  answered,  "I  believe  in  him  and  try  to  do  what  he 
asks  of  me.  I  think  that  is  what  makes  the  dif- 
ference." I  improved  every  day  and  when  it  came 
time  for  us  to  leave  Paris  for  London  I  did  so  with 
the  determination  to  return  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment  and  continue  my  studies  with  Signer  Sbrig- 
lia.  I  wrote  Mr.  S.  in  London,  making  an  appoint- 
ment for  a  lesson  each  of  the  two  mornings  I  was 
to  be  there.  I  was  on  hand  at  the  hour  appointed 
and  began  to  sing.  He  paused  after  a  moment  or 
so,  saying :  "I  never  have  known  a  change  of  climate 
to  do  so  much  for  a  voice;  yours  is  in  fine  condition. 
That's  the  way  to  sing.  You  ought  to  go  home  happy. 
I  thought  you'd  get  it  some  day  and  you  have." 
I  thanked  him  but  said  little  till  the  next  morning, 
when  he  was  again  enthusiastic,  attributing  my  im- 
provement wholly  to  the  change  of  climate.  "'Twas 
something  more  than  that.  I  took  lessons  while  I 
was  in  Paris."  "You  did!  Of  whom?"  "His  name 
is  Sbriglia."  "Sbriglia?  I  never  heard  of  him,"  (tak- 
ing his  pencil  and  writing  the  name  on  his  cuff). 

That  is  the  last  I  saw  of  Mr.  S.,  but  early  the  next 
spring  I  returned  to  Paris  and  had  a  lesson  every 
morning  from  the  middle  of  May  till  the  last  of 
August.  I  learned  three  operas,  "Lucia,"  "La  Sonam- 
bula"  and  II  Barbiere  di  Siviglia."  I  had  no  inten- 
tion of  going  into  opera  but  mastered  these  as 
studies. 

One  morning  while  going  for  my  lesson  I  deter- 


54  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

mined  to  ask  Sbriglia  to  hear  me  sing  rapid  scales. 
I  had  taught  myself  this  and  had  found  it  such  an 
easy  matter  by  a  method  that  I  had  discovered  (after 
struggling  without  method) — so  easy  indeed  that 
I  mistrusted  it  and  never  had  sung  scales  in  this  way 
for  any  one,  thinking  it  might  be  said  to  be  a  trick. 
After  the  lesson  that  morning  I  asked  Sbriglia  to 
hear  me  and  after  a  trial  or  two  I  found  my  pace,  so 
to  speak,  when  he  suddenly  leaped  from  his  chair, 
crying:  "There  hasn't  been  a  tenor  in  Europe  for 
fifty  years  who  sang  scales  in  that  way!  Get  a  copy 
of  'II  Barbiere'  and  we  will  learn  the  entire  'Alma- 
viva'  part."  I  did  so.  Sbriglia  was  so  well  satisfied 
that  he  began  at  once  to  talk  of  an  operatic  engage- 
ment for  me. 

This  I  would  not  agree  to,  for  his  plan  seemed 
entirely  based  on  the  fact  that  I  could  sing  this  florid 
music,  and  as  such  music  had  little  interest  for  me 
as  music  I  did  not  care  to  undertake  it;  besides  I 
was  not  tall  enough  to  appear  well,  in  opera.  He 
argued  with  me  repeatedly.  He  said  I  could  "wear 
high  heels"  and  I  could  do  this  and  that,  but  I  would 
not  consent  till  one  day  he  told  me  that  the  man- 
agers of  the  new  theatre  at  Nice  were  in  Paris  and 
had  engaged  one  or  two  of  his  pupils.  He  had  told 
them  of  my  singing  and  they  would  like  to  hear  me. 
Of  course  I  was  willing  to  sing  for  them  and  did 
so.  As  a  result  they  asked  if  I  would  consider  an 
engagement.  I  declined.  They  then  asked  if  I  would 
sing  for  their  orchestra  leader  Vianesi.  I  was  willing 
to  and  the  next  day  they  came  with  Vianesi  to 
Sbriglia's.  I  sang  the  last  scene  in  Lucia,  "Tombe 
degl'  avi  miei,"  and  "Ecco  Ridente"  from  "II  Bar- 
biere." 


MY  EXPERIENCE  WITH  TEACHERS  ABROAD       55 

As  I  finished  I  saw  the  managers  glance  at  Via- 
nesi.  He  nodded  his  head.  They  then  came  to  me, 
one  of  them  taking  from  his  pocket  a  contract, 
which  they  read  to  me,  I  was  to  sing  three  times 
a  week  and  to  receive  4000  francs  per  month  so 
long  as  they  had  the  management  of  the  thea- 
tre. I  again  declined,  much  to  the  discomfiture 
of  Sbriglia  and  the  astonishment  of  the  others. 
Sbriglia  said :  "They  come  here  from  America  wil- 
ling to  pay  for  an  opportunity  to  sing  in  opera  and 
you  can  refuse  this!"  He  was  really  inconsolable, 
and  a  day  or  two  after,  when  I  had  received  a  cable- 
gram from  the  Worcester  Festival  managers  asking 
me  to  sing  the  part  of  "Faust"  in  Berlioz's  "La  Dam- 
nation de  Faust"  at  their  first  production  of  this 
work,  I  took  it  to  Sbriglia.  He  looked  at  it  and 
immediately  dropped  it  upon  his  table,  exclaiming: 
"This  is  one  performance  and  you  could  sing  in  the 
opera  month  after  month!"  Sometimes  I  have  been 
sorry  that  I  did  not  make  the  trial,  but  on  the  whole 
I  think  that  I  have  been  happier  and  possibly  done 
more  for  the  cause  than  I  could  have  done  as  an 
opera  singer. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  STORY  OF  A  DISCOVERY 

AT  ONE  TIME  when  I  was  in  London,  having 
seen  that  the  famous  tenor  Sims  Reeves  was 
to  appear  in  concert,  I  determined  to  go  and  hear 
him.  Disappointment  awaited  me,  for  he  did  not 
appear,  indisposition  being  the  excuse.  Again  and 
again  I  went  to  hear  him  at  various  times  and  places 
but  with  always  the  same  result.  The  fact  was 
that  Sims  Reeves  at  that  time  was  nearing  his  70th 
year  and  his  indispositions  were  natural  at  that  age. 
However,  seeing  at  another  time  the  advertisement 
of  a  ventriloquist  who  would  give  as  one  of  his  acts 
an  imitation  of  Reeves,  I  decided  that  if  I  could  not 
hear  the  real  thing  I  would  hear  the  imitation  and 
so  posted  off  to  the  entertainment. 

There  I  sat  entirely  uninterested  until  the  Reeves 
imitation  came,  when  I  found  that  the  ventriloquist 
was  so  good  a  singer  that  I  marvelled  he  did  not 
make  singing  his  profession.  It  did  not  occur  to  me 
at  the  time  that  he  used  his  ventriloquial  tones  for 
his  singing,  but  as  I  thought  it  over  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  did.  The  circumstance  and  the 
thought  lay  dormant  in  my  mind,  and  later  one  sum- 
mer during  which  I  travelled  back  and  forth  from 
Providence  to  Willimantic,  my  old  home,  where  I 
was  passing  my  vacation,  I  was  both  amazed  and 

56 


STORY  OF  A  DISCOVERY  57 

amused  to  notice  that  the  trainman,  well  along  in 
years,  would,  in  calling  out  the  different  stations, 
always  do  so  with  a  very  high  pitched  voice  and 
always  on  the  same  pitch,  high  C.  Hearing  this  as 
I  did  each  week,  it  made  a  distinct  impression  on 
me,  and  one  day,  going  into  my  studio  directly  from 
the  train,  I  began  to  imitate  the  trainman  and  much 
to  my  surprise  found  myself  shouting  out  the  high 
C  with  great  ease  and  precision.  I  amused  myself  for 
a  few  moments  thus  and  then  forgot  about  it. 

Some  months  before  this,  after  I  had  sung  the 
tenor  part  in  Gounod's  St.  Cecilia  Mass  at  one  of  the 
Boylston  Club  concerts  in  Boston,  at  which  George 
Henschel,  who  was  then  the  conductor  of  the  Boston 
Symphony  Orchestra,  and  Leandro  Campanari,  who 
was  in  charge  of  the  choir  at  the  Cathedral  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  in  Boston,  were  present,  both 
these  gentlemenwrote  me,  Mr.  Henschel  asking  me  to 
become  the  tenor  in  his  quartette,  comprising  Mrs. 
Henschel,  himself  and  Gertrude  Edmands,  contralto. 
I  accepted  the  invitation  and  sang  with  them  in  sev- 
eral concerts  at  which  he  produced  some  quartettes 
by  Schumann,  Brahms  and  others. 

Mr.  Campanari  wanted  me  to  take  the  tenor 
solos  in  his  choir  and  came  to  Providence  two  or 
three  times  to  urge  me  in  the  matter.  But  I  was 
then  with  Dr.  Greer,  (afterward  Bishop  Greer  of 
New  York),  at  Grace  Church  and  he  would  never 
hear  'of  my  leaving  there. 

Shortly  after  this  Mr.  Campanari  resigned  his 
position  in  Boston  and  returned  to  Italy,  when 
George  W.  Whiting,  who  had  for  years  before  been 
the  organist  at  the  Immaculate  Conception  in  Boston, 
returned  from  Chicago,  where  he  had  been  teaching 


58  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

for  several  years  in  the  Conservatory,  and  resumed 
his  old  position  in  Boston.  Thereupon  he  wrote  me, 
saying  that  the  people  there  had  long  wanted  me 
for  their  choir  and  now  that  he  had  returned  per- 
haps I  would  feel  like  coming. 

Dr.  Greer  had  by  that  time  left  Providence  for 
New  York.  I  had  been  singing  in  Grace  Church  for 
years  and  took  the  opportunity  to  resign.  When  this 
invitation  came  again  from  Boston  I  had  about  de- 
cided to  accept  it  when  the  thought  struck  me: 
"They  sing,  every  year,  at  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion the  Verdi  'Requiem'  and  the  Rossini  'Stabat 
Mater';"  and  I  said  to  myself:  "You  cannot  sing 
those  works;  they  are  beyond  your  range!"  Then; 
(again  to  myself)  :  "Why  can't  you?  You  have  a 
tenor  voice  and  why  should  you  not  be  able  to  sing 
these  works?"  Like  a  flash  came  the  thought:  "I'll 
try  them  with  that  ventriloquial  production!"  I  did 
so  and  found  that  I  could  reach  the  high  tones  with 
perfect  ease  and  security.  The  tones  were  crude,  to 
be  sure,  but  there  they  were!  Immediately  I  thought: 
"I've  made  a  discovery  and  I  believe  it's  something 
I  should  have  been  taught  long  ago." 

All  alone  —  that  is  to  say  without  advice  —  I 
began  to  work  at  it.  I  certainly  made  some  queer 
sounds — so  queer  that  the  people  with  whom  I 
was  living,  hearing  me,  were  alarmed,  thinking  that 
I  would  ruin  my  voice,  but  I  felt  that  if  so  the  cause 
was  worth  the  sacrifice  and  persisted.  In  a  few 
weeks  these  same  people  and  all  my  friends  began 
to  say:  "Why,  how  much  better  and  easier  your  high 
tones  are  than  they  were!  What  have  you  been 
doing?" 

Of  course  I  could  not  go  to  the  Boston  choir  to  try 


STORY  OF  A  DISCOVERY  59 

out  this  experiment  but  when  I  had  definitely  set- 
tled the  matter  in  my  own  mind  I  began  to  teach  it 
and  I  well  remember  the  first  instance. 

Mrs.  Stone,  the  widow  of  an  old  friend  of  mine, 
brought  her  son  to  me  for  lessons.  He  was  then 
about  nineteen  and  had  a  very  deep  and  full  bass 
voice  which  with  difficulty  could  reach  only  as  high 
as  middle  C.  Mrs.  Stone  said  that  it  had  been  the 
dearest  wish  of  her  husband  that  the  boy,  Will, 
should  have  lessons  of  me  as  soon  as  he  was  old 
enough.  Here  I  had  an  opportunity  to  test  my  dis- 
covery, for  the  boy  came  with  implicit  confidence 
in  everything  that  I  should  tell  him. 

We  began.  I  had  learned  how  to  apply  my  dis- 
covery to  my  own  voice  but  here  it  was  a  different 
proposition.  Little  by  little,  however,  we  found  the 
way  and  finally  many  times  when  Will  would 
happen  to  call  during  a  lesson  with  some  other  pupil, 
I  would  say  as  he  opened  the  door:  "Stand  right 
where  you  are  and  sing."  I  would  usually  begin  the 
scale  with  low  A  flat  and  take  his  voice  in  a  moder- 
ately rapid  scale  two  octaves  to  upper  A  flat.  This 
I  could  do  at  any  time  without  any  preparation  on 
his  part  other  than  to  take  his  position. 

I  have  had  a  similiar  success  in  many  other  cases. 
Sometimes  I  find  this  ventriloquial  production  (as  I 
call  it)  natural,  and  always  when  it  is  so,  the  voice 
is  high.  Sometimes  tenors  who  do  not  have  it,  ima- 
gine, or  have  been  told,  that  they  are  baritones  and 
sometimes  I  have  found  cases  where  this  natural 
production  was  over  done  and  have  had  to  loosen 
and  readjust  the  action  of  production.  This  discov- 
ery I  made  too  late  for  my  own  use  as  a  public  sing- 
er but  I  have  it  always  ready  to  help  others  with. 


60  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

In  this  connection  the  following  facts  may  be  inter- 
esting. The  well  known  and  justly  popular  tenor, 
Evan  Williams,  now  unhappily  no  more,  made  his 
first  appearance  in  oratorio  with  the  Arion  Club  of 
Providence  when  he  sang  the  "Creation"  under  my 
leadership.  We  became  fast  friends  and  used  to 
spend  the  vacation  seasons  together  at  my  farm  in 
Willimantic.  I  was  fond  of  his  singing,  which  occa- 
sionally was  wonderfully  fine  and  impressive  al- 
though he  never  sang  at  his  best  in  Providence  and 
I  had  difficulty  in  persuading  the  people  here  to  be- 
lieve that  he  could  sing  with  the  best.  I  engaged 
him  in  all  five  times,  I  believe,  but  never  once  did 
he  do  himself  full  justice.  The  last  time  he  came, 
however,  he  sang  better  than  he  ever  had  before. 
This  was  our  first  concert  of  the  season  and  I  told 
him  that  it  "was  something  like"  and,  as  we  expected 
to  sing  the  "Hymn  of  Praise"  at  the  spring  concert, 
I  should  possibly  want  him  for  that. 

The  season  wore  on  and  I  learned  that  Ben  Davies, 
the  Welsh  tenor,  was  to  visit  America  again.  Mr. 
Davies  had  sung  with  us  and  was  a  favorite.  Believ- 
ing that  it  might  be  his  last  visit  to  America,  I  de- 
cided to  engage  him  for  the  "Hymn  of  Praise"  and 
let  Mr.  Williams  wait  another  opportunity.  One  day 
Williams  phoned  from  Boston  that  he  was  to  sing 
there  that  evening  and  asked  me  to  come  to  hear  him. 
I  could  not  accept  his  invitation  as  I  had  another  en- 
gagement out  of  town.  However  I  asked  a  friend 
who  lived  in  my  house  to  go  in  my  place.  After  the 
Boston  concert  they  returned  to  Providence  together 
and  when  I  came  home  the  next  morning  I  found 
that  Williams,  who  came  at  once  to  my  studio,  was 
grievously  disappointed  at  the  turn  things  had  taken 


STORY  OF  A  DISCOVERY  61 

and  while  I  was  explaining  the  matter  my  first  pupil 
of  the  day  came  for  his  lesson. 

Williams  took  a  newspaper  from  his  pocket  and 
went  into  the  reception  room  to  wait  till  the  time 
came  for  his  train  to  New  York.  I  began  the  lesson. 
Almost  instantly  Williams  was  on  his  feet  in  the 
doorway  exclaiming:  "That's  the  best  thing  I  ever 
heard  anyone  say  about  singing!"  Williams  had 
only  known  me  as  a  conductor.  I  had  said  little  to 
him  about  singing  excepting  to  ask  why,  when  I  had 
heard  him  sing  so  wonderfully  at  other  places,  he 
could  not  sing  the  same  in  Providence. 

I  paid  little  attention  to  what  he  said,  for  I  had 
known  him  long  enough  to  realize  that  he  was  an 
enthusiast,  the  kind  whose  "last  teacher  was  the 
best."  After  the  pupil  had  gone  and  before  the 
next  one  appeared,  Williams  said:  "Show  me  how 
to  do  that,  I  can't  do  it."  "Oh!  no,  why  should  I 
undertake  to  tell  you  anything  about  singing,  you 
whom  I've  paid  so  much  and  so  often?  You  could 
not  understand  in  the  few  minutes  you  have  before 
train  time."  "I'll  wait  till  the  next  train."  "No,  no! 
I  don't  want  to  interfere  with  your  singing."  "But 
you  should  be  willing  to  help  me."  "Look  here,  Wil- 
liams. If  I  had  come  to  you  and  said,  I  have,  or 
know,  something  that  would  help  you  in  your  sing- 
ing, you  would  probably  laugh  at  me.  No,  I  don't 
want  to  interfere." 

Williams  stayed  in  my  studio  all  day  and  really 
wore  me  out,  importuning  me  at  every  opportunity. 
He  came  repeatedly  from  New  York  for  instruction 
as  he  had  opportunity  and  I  believe  that  I  did  him 
much  good,  at  least  he  would  write  me  from  various 


62  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

places  where  he  had  gone  to  sing,  telling  me  of  the 
benefit  he  was  deriving  from  my  ideas. 

I  engaged  Ben  Davies  as  I  had  intended  and  the 
concert  came  that  spring  during  Easter  week.  The 
day  before  the  concert  Davies  wrote  me  from  Boston, 
saying  that  as  he  was  to  sing  with  the  Boston  Sym- 
phony Orchestra  at  its  public  rehearsal  on  Friday 
afternoon,  when  we  were  to  have  our  public  rehear- 
sal for  the  "Hymn  of  Praise,"  he  would  be  unable  to 
be  present  in  Providence.  I  replied  as  follows:  "You 
know  the  'Hymn  of  Praise,'  you  know  me  and  I  know 
you.  You  need  not  come  for  the  rehearsal."  He 
again  wrote:  "I  haven't  sung  the  work  for  a  long 
time  and  would  like  to  come  and  try  it  with  you  at 
the  piano." 

He  came  and  after  we  had  finished  he  snapped  his 
book  together  and  said:  "Tell  me  about  Williams." 
"Tell  you  what  about  Williams?" 

"Why,  I  was  dining  with  his  former  teacher  in 
New  York  a  few  days  ago  and  began  chaffing  him 
about  Williams  saying,  "Something  must  be  wrong 
with  your  teaching  for  they  tell  me  Williams's  voice 
is  deteriorating?'  'Not  so?'  cried  the  teacher.  'Every- 
body in  New  York  is  saying  that  Williams  sang  bet- 
ter than  he  was  ever  known  to  do  on  Easter  Sun- 
day'." At  that  I  began  to  smile.  "You  seem  to  know 
something  about  it."  "I  do,"  said  I,  drawing  from 
my  pocket  a  letter  that  I  had  received  a  few  days 
before  from  Williams,  in  which  he  said  that  people 
told  him  that  he  never  had  sung  so  well  as  on 
Easter. 

Davies  read  the  letter.  "That's  remarkable,"  said 
he.  "Show  me  what  you  showed  Williams."  "Look 
here,  Davies,"  I  said.  "I'm  paying  you  a  heavy  fee 


STORY  OF  A  DISCOVERY  63 

to  sing  for  me  and  you  ask  me  to  show  you  some- 
thing about  singing?"  "Well,  you  showed  it  to  Wil- 
liams"—  and  so  he  went  on,  and  I  had  to  tell  him. 
He  saw  the  value  of  the  idea  at  once  and  came  sev- 
eral times  from  Boston  to  study  it. 

It  would  take  too  long  and  too  much  space  here  to 
try  to  explain  the  matter  and  I  only  speak  of  it  in 
the  way  of  putting  it  on  record. 

I  finally  did  hear  Sims  Reeves  at  a  concert  in  the 
Alexandria  Palace  but  as  he  sang  for  the  most  part 
a  mezza  voce,  and  as  the  auditorium  was  an  im- 
mense one,  I  heard  very  little  of  his  voice  till  I 
begged  permission  of  an  attendant  policeman  to 
move  nearer  to  the  stage.  Then  I  heard  better.  He 
sang  Beethoven's  "Adalaide"  and  an  old  English 
song,  "Tom  Bowling,"  all  in  fine  style  but  little 
voice;'  yet  I  was  pleased  to  be  able  to  say  that  I  had 
heard  one  of  the  most  celebrated  tenors  of  his  cen- 
tury. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  STORY  OF  AN  HONORARY  DEGREE 

COLONEL  WILLIAM  GODDARD,  whose  name 
always  carried  distinction  and  dignity,  Chan- 
cellor of  Brown  University,  for  many  years  Presi- 
dent of  the  Arion  Club  and  a  proven  friend  of  mine, 
said  to  me  one  evening  at  an  Arion  rehearsal,  a 
function  that  he  never  missed  when  in  town :  "I 
wish  that  you  would  give  me  a  copy  of  all  your  com- 
positions that  have  been  published."  Knowing  his 
interest  in  these,  I  had  made  it  a  rule  to  send  him 
copies  as  I  received  them.  I  reminded  him  of  this 
and  he  said:  "Yes,  yes,  but  be  sure  and  see  that 
I  have  them  all." 

In  a  day  or  so  I  sent  him  a  bundle  of  songs  and 
other  compositions,  wondering  what  he  could  want 
to  do  with  them.  I  had  well-nigh  forgotten  the  cir- 
cumstance, when  at  another  rehearsal  at  which 
Colonel  Goddard  was  present  after  having  been  for 
several  weeks  in  Washington,  I  happened  to  think 
that  maybe  he  had  shown  them  to  some  one  there 
and  said  to  him:  "Mr.  Goddard,  pray  tell  me  what 
you  did  with  those  pieces  of  mine."  He  replied 
rather  brusquely:  "If  you  wait  patiently,  you'll 
know  some  day."  This  meant  little  to  me,  but  I  sub- 
sided. 

Several  weeks  after  our  season  of  concerts  had 

64 


COLONEL  WILLIAM   GODDARD 
Chancellor  of  Brown  University  and 
Second  President  of  the  Arion  Club 


AN  HONORARY  DEGREE  65 

closed,  I  received  a  note  from  him  in  which  he  said : 
"If  you  will  read  the  report  of  the  Brown  Commence- 
ment exercises  in  the  Providence  Journal  of  this 
morning,  you  may  learn  why  I  wanted  those  compo- 
sitions, which  I  have  put  to  a  good  purpose."  I  pro- 
cured a  Journal,  proceeded  to  read  about  the  Com- 
mencement and  had  read  a  long  way  when  I  came 
upon  the  announcement  that  the  University  had  con- 
ferred upon  me  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Music !  My  first  thought  was  one  of  gratitude  to 
Mr.  Goddard,  for  I  knew  that  it  was  in  some  way 
through  him  that  this  had  been  done.  My  next 
thought  was  that  I  was  unworthy  of  such  a  signal 
honor,  and  then  I  thought  that  as  Brown  University 
was  not  an  institution  of  musical  learning  the  degree 
to  the  outside  world  might  seem  of  little  significance, 
though  I  was  none  the  less  appreciative  of  the  honor. 
I  wrote  immediately  to  Colonel  Goddard  saying  that 
I  felt  it  was  all  due  to  his  interest  and  thoughtful- 
ness  for  me,  and  thanking  him  as  best  I  could.  In  a 
day  or  two  he  called  at  my  studio. 

"You  think,"  said  he,  "that  I  had  so  much  to  do 
with  this  matter  that  I  want  you  to  know  just  what 
I  did."  Thereupon  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  letter. 
"Here,"  said  he,  "is  a  letter  that  I  wrote  President 
Andrews  about  you  and  what  you  had  done  for 
music  in  this  community.  He  then  read  me  the  let- 
ter, with  which  I  was  so  pleased  that  I  exclaimed: 
"Mr.  Goddard,  I  think  more  of  that  letter  than  I  do 
of  the  degree.  Won't  you  let  me  have  it?"  "Oh,  no," 
said  he,  beginning  to  tear  it  to  pieces,  "This  is  a 
copy  of  the  original,  which  was  a  personal  letter  and 
so  I'd  better  destroy  it,"  (looking  for  the  waste 
basket).  "What  did  you  want  to  do  with  it?"  "I'd 


66  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

like  to  send  it  to  my  mother."  "It  wouldn't  do,"  he 
said,  and  tossed  the  fragments  into  the  basket.  In 
a  few  moments  he  took  his  leave.  I  looked  at  the 
basket  with  longing  eyes,  finally  taking  out  the 
pieces  one  by  one,  putting  them  together  and  read- 
ing the  letter  for  myself,  which  I  could  not  have 
done  had  I  not  just  heard  it  read.  I  made  a  copy 
and  sent  it  to  my  mother,  after  which  I  returned 
the  pieces  to  the  waste  basket. 

My  friends  as  well  as  myself  were  pleased  at  the 
mark  of  honor  shown  me  by  the  University,  though 
some  of  them  tried  to  make  themselves  and  me  think 
it  was  a  sort  of  a  jest.  For  a  few  days  I  would  get 
some  such  message  over  the  phone  as  this:  "Is  this 
Doctor  Jordan?"  Of  course  I  had  to  say  yes,  but 
always  with  a  very  modest  tone  of  voice.  "Then — 
please  come  as  soon  as  you  can  to  our  house,  the 
baby  is  sick!" 

But  this  was  for  a  week  or  two  only.  The  general 
public  seemed  pleased  and  I  was  congratulated  on 
all  sides,  but  yet  I  was  very  loath  to  use  the  title  until 
in  the  season  following,  when  we  had  given  a  con- 
cert at  which  Ben  Davies  sang,  Mr.  Goddard  after 
the  concert  gave  a  supper  for  him  at  the  Goddard 
mansion  on  Brown  Street.  There  was  a  large  com- 
pany present  and  after  supper  as  I  walked  into  the 
drawing  room  toward  Mr.  Goddard  and  Mr.  Davies, 
who  stood  conversing  together,  I  heard  as  I  drew 
near:  "Yes,  but  he  doesn't  value  it" — this  from  Mr. 
Goddard.  I  knew  to  what  he  referred. 

"Mr.  Goddard,"  said  I;  "you  shall  never  have 
cause  to  reproach  me  again  on  that  score."  Since 
then  I  have  been  careful  to  use  the  title  "Mus.  Doc." 
on  every  programme  and  in  every  advertisement  of 


AN  HONORARY  DEGREE  67 

our  concerts.  I  still  think  myself  unworthy  to  bear 
the  title,  though  I  appreciate  the  honor  more  and 
more  as  time  flies  on. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  ADVANTAGE  OF  DAILY  LESSONS 

TEACHERS  OF  SINGING  in  America  are  in  the 
great  majority  of  cases  severely  handicapped 
by  the  fact  that  pupils  rarely  have  but  one  lesson  a 
week.  This,  for  beginners,  makes  the  process  of 
voice  placing  and  development  so  slow  that  an  un- 
usual fund  of  patience  and  perseverance  on  the  part 
of  both  teacher  and  pupil  is  a  necessity  that  too 
often  proves  to  be  beyond  the  pupil's  willingness  or 
power  of  endurance.  But  lately  an  oasis  has  ap- 
peared in  this  desert  of  endeavor:  With  three  first- 
class  voices,  a  soprano,  a  mezzo-soprano  and  a  tenor, 
I  am  having  the  inestimable  privilege  of  daily  les- 
sons. 

The  soprano  voice  -is  that  of  a  young  Italian  girl, 
Mary  lacovino.  When  she  first  came  to  me  she  was 
a  mill-hand,  but  with  a  voice  of  so  many  superior 
attributes  and  withal  so  talented  that  to  teach  her 
has  become  simply  a  matter  of  gentle  leading.  She 
has  been  studying,  (July  1921),  for  about  a  year  and 
a  half,  is  but  eighteen  years  old,  is  fast  gaining  an 
extensive  repertoire  in  opera  and  is  a  mill  hand  no 
longer.  She  has  already  had  distinguished  success  in 
several  important  concerts  and  is  sure  to  become 
widely  known.  The  following  notice  of  a  recent  ap- 
pearance is  but  one  of  the  many  complimentary  no- 

68 


ADVANTAGE  OF  DAILY  LESSONS  69 

tices  she  has  already  won.  After  she  had  sung  the 
title  role  in  Donizetti's  "Daughter  of  the  Regiment," 
a  concert  version  that  was  given  by  the  Arion  Club 
in  Providence,  May  17,  1921,  the  Providence  Tribune 
said: 

"Naturally  the  youthful  soloist,  Mary  lacovino, 
was  the  centre  of  interest  in  the  opera  and  to  those 
who  had  not  previously  heard  her,  her  voice  was  a 
revelation  in  its  purity,  carrying  power  and  fresh- 
ness. Gifted,  too,  with  the  temperamental  qualities  of 
her  race,  she  quite  won  the  admiration  and  applause 
of  the  audience  not  alone  by  her  unquestioned  vocal 
gifts  but  her  simple  modesty  and  an  entire  absence 
of  affectation." 

The  next  case  is  that  of  a  young  married  woman, 
Mrs.  Danserau,  gifted  with  a  remarkably  fine  mezzo- 
soprano  of  great  range  and  noble  quality.  Of  mod- 
erate education  only  and  of  diffident  manner,  partly 
on  that  account,  I  presume,  she  was  progressing  but 
slowly  until  I  made  an  arrangement  whereby  she 
could  afford  to  come  for  a  lesson  every  morning 
before  going  to  her  daily  work.  Since  then,  her  im- 
provement has  been  remarkable,  the  voice  devel- 
oping rapidly;  her  articulation  of  words  especially, 
which  at  first  was  so  defective  that  it  was  impossible 
to  understand  one  of  them,  is  fast  becoming  a  model 
of  beautiful  distinctness.  She  is  also  learning  to  read 
music  at  sight,  as  must  all  my  pupils  before  they 
receive  my  unqualified  commendation,  and  the  fu- 
ture is  exceedingly  promising  for  her. 

Case  No.  3  is  that  of  a  young  man  of  twenty-one, 
the  son  of  a  former  pupil  of  mine,  Edward  Lariviere, 
whose  fine  bass  voice  gained  him  a  good  livelihood 
on  the  Keith  circuit  in  an  operatic  ensemble,  till,  in 


70  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

an  evil  hour  he  accepted  a  position  in  New  York  to 
sing  at  a  "movie"  house  where  he  was  required  to 
shout  rather  than  sing.  After  two  years  of  such 
usage  his  voice  became  a  wreck  and  he  returned  to 
Providence  to  recuperate  and  to  coax  it  back  into 
its  natural  emission  and  control.  During  this  time 
he  fortunately  was  offered  what  proved  to  be  a 
lucrative  business  position  in  North  Dakota.  His 
voice  however  had  not  recovered  its  tone  at  the  time 
when  his  son  Laurent,  then  about  seventeen,  begin- 
ning to  sing  imitated  his  father's  voice  as  he  heard 
him  practice.  This  led  to  a  wrong  emission  and  the 
voice,  instead  of  being  led  to  a  natural  tenor  as  it 
should  have  been,  was  forced  into  something  that  his 
father  and  himself  supposed  to  be  a  baritone.  But 
when  the  family  came  to  Providence  I  at  once  pro- 
nounced the  voice  to  be  a  tenor,  much  to  the  aston- 
ishment of  both  father  and  son.  I  had  for  about  three 
or  four  weeks  at  that  time  daily  lessons  with  him, 
which  lessons  were  then  discontinued  for  various 
reasons.  During  these  daily  lessons  the  voice  rapidly 
began  to  assume  its  rightful  place  but  when  the  les- 
sons ceased  this  improvement  was  lost  till,  resuming 
daily  lessons  a  short  time  ago,  in  less  than  two 
weeks  he  was  able  to  sing  easily  and  well  no  less 
exacting  a  part  than  that  of  the  tenor  in  Verdi's 
"Rigoletto"  quartette.  He  sings  without  fatigue  and 
with  a  fine  display  of  natural  talent  that  is  as  rare 
as  it  is  inspiring  to  a  teacher,  and  his  future  is  as 
bright,  in  my  opinion,  as  any  young  singer  can  pos- 
sibly desire.  In  each  of  these  cases  with  but  one  les- 
son a  week  it  would  have  taken  months  and  possibly 
years  to  acquire  what  was  accomplished  in  a  few 
weeks.  What  a  saving  then  of  time,  strength  and 
patience. 


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CHAPTER  XV 
.HOW   I  GIVE   A   SINGING  LESSON 

IF  THE  PUPIL  is  a  beginner,  I  make  a  mental 
estimate  of  his  physical  fitness  by  observing  his 
countenance  and  his  carriage — that  is,  the  way  he 
carries  himself.  I  then  place  him  as  directly  in 
front  of  me  as  possible  and  explain,  with  many 
examples,  the  great  importance  of  a  correct  position 
of  the  body  and  its  bearing  on  tone  production  and 
control  of  the  voice. 

I  then  proceed  with  the  position  of  the  head,  the 
use  of  the  jaw  and  particularly  the  use  of  the  tongue 
and  the  absolute  necessity  of  its  relaxation  on  the 
vowel  sound  of  every  syllable  in  its  (the  tongue's) 
vowel  position.  With  the  chin  slightly  lowered,  a 
position  inducing  a  correct  position  of  the  chest, 
which  can  little  by  little  be  elevated,  I  ask  for  a  deep, 
natural  inhalation  of  breath  without  dropping  the 
chest  or  altering  in  any  way  the  position.  I  then 
advise  a  taking  hold,  or  setting,  of  the  breath,  ex- 
actly as  though  the  person  were  about  to  lift  some- 
thing moderately  heavy  and  with  the  mouth  open 
(at  first  not  too  wide). 

I  show  the  pupil  that  the  tone  is  best  produced  by 
what  I  liken  to  a  gentle  explosion  or  attack  from  a 
vitalized  breath,  that  is  with  sufficient  tension  at  the 
diaphragm,  which  should  act  in  a  perfectly  natural 

71 


72  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

way.  After  the  production  is  satisfactory,  I  proceed 
to  mold  the  resultant  tone,  rounding  it  and  bringing 
its  resonance  forward.  If  there  is  time,  I  then  pro- 
ceed to  learn  the  state  of  the  pupil's  knowledge 
regarding  the  rudiments  of  notation,  for  I  firmly  be- 
lieve that  this  sort  of  training  should  go  hand  in 
hand  with  the  vocal  exercises.  It  is  often,  much  too 
often,  partially  or  totally  neglected — sometimes,  I 
suspect,  because  teachers  do  not  appreciate  the 
necessity  of  such  training  or  because  they  do  not 
wish  to  take  the  trouble  or  perhaps  for  another  and 
obvious  reason. 

I  then  preach  patience,  for  in  almost  any  com- 
munity excepting  the  great  musical  centres  such  as 
New  York  and  Boston,  where  pupils  flock  for  in- 
struction, the  custom  of  having  but  one  half-hour 
lesson  a  week  prevails  and  it  is  unreasonable  to 
expect  thorough  and  rapid  improvement  in  such  an 
exacting  art  as  singing  under  these  conditions. 

Then  as  the  pupil  progresses  I  always  try  to  keep 
his  mind  applied  to  the  first  principles  that  I  have 
so  briefly  sketched  above.  These  will  become,  by 
practice,  habits  that  will  conduce  to  a  full  and  free 
development  of  the  tone.  In  female  voices  I  find  it 
oftentimes  necessary  to  adjust  the  registers,  the 
so-called  chest,  medium  and  head,  always  seeking 
to  bring  the  upper  register  down,  to  lap  over,  so  to 
speak,  the  next  lower  register.  To  do  this  it  is  nec- 
essary to  sing  the  lower  tones  of  the  upper  reg- 
ister softly  as  they  approach  the  next  lower  register, 
when,  if  properly  "rounded,"  they  will  develop  and 
finally  mix  with  the  adjoining  register  so  that  it  will 
be  difficult  for  a  listener's  ear  to  detect  the  line  of 
division. 


A  SINGING  LESSON  73 

With  the  male  voice  this  necessity  is  not  so  imper- 
ative, although  much  care  must  be  exercised  in  all 
voices  to  see  that  the  lower  tone  quality  is  not  forced 
beyond  its  legitimate  place.  Attention  from  first  to 
last  should  be  given  to  the  breath  management. 
Should  the  tone  lose  its  connection  with  the  breath, 
held  at  its  root  so  to  speak,  (the  diaphragm),  the 
tone  will  not  develop;  it  will  get  beyond  control  and 
become  like  a  plant  torn  from  its  root. 

I  have  found  at  a  certain  stage  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  voice,  when  it  has  become  well  seated  with 
the  tonal  resonance  well  forward,  that  great  benefit 
can  be  derived  by  inducing  an  undertone  of  reso- 
nance which  instead  of  detracting  from  the  forward 
resonance  aids  it,  the  two  blending  in  a  way  that 
seems  literally  to  fill  every  part  of  the  chest  and 
head,  and  in  fact  the  entire  body,  with  resonance  and 
greatly  facilitates  the  modulation  of  the  voice,  es- 
pecially in  a  decrescendo.  This  I  believe  is  one  of 
the  finishing  touches  that  the  teacher  can  give  the 
voice  that  he  has  in  hand  and  when  the  pupil  has 
entered  upon  this  stage  they  will  both  have  reason  to 
be  happy,  for  the  pupil  will  have  it  in  his  power  to 
express  every  shade  of  meaning. 

Happy,  let  me  repeat,  happy  and  warm-hearted, 
for  a  warm  heart  helps  to  make  a  warm  tone  and  it 
is  only  by  a  warm  tone  that  we  can  touch  the  hearts 
of  our  hearers.  Let  those  cold  and  supercilious  mor- 
tals sing  as  best  they  can  with  unsympathetic  tone, 
if  they  must ;  they  can  never  create  that  atmosphere 
of  rest  and  comfort  that  are  assured  to  even  a  less 
skillful  singer  with  a  warm  heart. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
TREATMENT  OF  THE  FEMALE  VOICE 

TO  ANY  COMPETENT  TEACHER  what  I  am 
about  to  say  on  this  subject  will  be  thought 
unnecessary,  but  the  danger  is  so  great  that  I  feel 
bound  to  add  a  note  of  warning  and  to  cite  two  fla- 
grant examples  of  the  loss  of  voice  which  was  caused 
by  disregarding  natural  laws.  The  examples  them- 
selves will  furnish  the  technical  details. 

At  one  time  there  came  to  me  a  young  girl,  accom- 
panied by  her  mother,  who  applied  for  lessons.  The 
young  lady  had  little  voice,  scarcely  any,  but  she 
had  a  great  desire  to  sing  and  as  her  mother  was  a 
helpful  pianist  and  her  daughter  quick  and  intelli- 
gent with  a  fine  ear,  we  began.  Tne  mother  came 
always  to  the  lesson  and  what  the  girl  did  not  com- 
prehend, possibly  the  mother  did.  The  process  was 
necessarily  slow  at  first  but  finally  the  improvement 
was  so  very  pronounced  that  as  a  reward  for  her  dil- 
igence and  perseverance  I  took  the  girl  into  a  choir 
that  I  had  formed  for  training  young  singers,  giving 
her  the  position  of  soprano  soloist.  This  too  was  a 
slow  beginning,  but  after  a  while  she  became  of 
exceptional  value,  singing  with  great  freedom  and 
confidence  so  that  in  a  year  or  so  we  put  on  for  per- 
formance such  works  as  Rossini's  "Stabat  Mater," 
this  young  lady  singing  the  soprano  part  with  great 

74 


THE  FEMALE  VOICE  75 

brilliancy  and  effect.  She  began  then  to  think  that 
she  had  better  change  teachers,  a  fact  reported  to 
me  by  others  of  the  choir,  when  I  replied:  "If  she 
feels  that  way,  perhaps  she  had  better  change;" 
and  finally  one  summer  she  did  begin  lessons  with 
a  Mr.  — ,  who  had  sung  with  us  at  the  Arion  con- 
certs many  times  and  had  invariably  been  well  re- 
ceived. He  was  a  good  artist  and  a  good  musician, 
but  as  the  sequel  will  show  not  the  best  of  teachers. 
I  knew  that  the  young  lady  had  gone  to  him  for 
instruction  but  it  did  not  trouble  me,  for  I  felt  and 
still  feel  that  singers  should  suit  themselves. 

This  happened,  as  I  have  said,  during  the  summer 
vacation,  when  we  had  little  or  no  solo  singing  in  the 
choir.  Consequently  I  had  not  heard  her  voice  alone 
for  two  or  three  months  when  one  day  she  called  on 
me  at  my  studio.  "I  want  you  to  hear  my  voice,"  she 
said.  "There's  something  the  matter  with  it."  She 
began  to  sing  a  scale.  I  found  that  she  had  pushed 
up  the  chest  tones  to  the  B  natural,  middle  line,  G 
clef,  and  was  trying  to  make  the  next  C  with  a  chest 
tone. 

"Why  do  you  do  that?  That's  what's  the  matter, 
you  are  forcing  the  chest  tone  far  beyond  its  natural 
limit.  Why  do  you  do  it?"  I  asked. 

"Didn't  you  know  that  I  am  studying  with  —  ?" 
"Yes,  I  knew  that;  you  should  have  told  me,  but  I 
knew  it.  He  doesn't  tell  you  to  do  that,  does  he?" 
"No,  but  ...  ." 

It  appeared  as  I  questioned  her  that  her  teacher 
liked  her  lower  tones  very  much  and  gave  her  some 
very  low  studies  to  practice,  studies  in  which  she 
would  naturally  use  chest  tones.  These  I  suppose  he 
praised  for  their  strength  and  she  proceeded  to  push 


76  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

them  up  with  never  a  word  of  warning  or  correction 
from  him.  She  was  always  a  diligent  worker  and 
had  worked  as  hard  to  do  this  as  though  it  had  been 
the  correct  thing  to  do. 

Her  mother,  who  came  with  her,  exclaimed, 
"There,  I  told  you  that  was  wrong,  but  you  would  not 
listen  to  me!"  There  was  a  tearful  scene  between 
mother  and  daughter,  during  which  I  took  occasion 
to  read  the  wilful  young  miss  a  lecture.  She  begged 
me  to  take  her  back,  but  I  prescribed  absolute  rest 
for  at  least  three  months,  as  her  vocal  cords  had  be- 
come so  inflamed  that  she  could  not  make  at  all  the 
natural  medium  tone  which  had  been  her  chief  glory. 

She  retained  her  place  in  the  choir  but  I  had  to 
give  the  solo  work  to  another  singer,  which  was  a 
bitter  cross  for  her  to  bear,  till  finally,  as  she  would 
persist  in  trying  to  sing  in  spite  of  my  advice,  I  had 
to  ask  for  her  resignation.  She  afterward  regained 
her  voice,  but  never  won  back  the  superb  confidence 
with  which  she  had  formerly  sung. 

The  other  case  is  of  a  young  contralto — Miss  D., 
we  will  call  her.  She  had  that  abnormal  sort  of  voice 
called  by  some  a  female  tenor,  which  is  the  female 
voice  pushing  up  its. chest  tones.  This  it  was  natural 
for  her  to  do,  and  in  her  case  the  effect  was  quite 
unusual  and  remarkable,  as  she  seemed  to  do  it  with- 
out special  effort. 

It  was  none  the  less  dangerous,  however,  and  on 
her  coming  to  me  for  lessons  I  would  dwell  each 
time  on  this  point.  Of  course  as  she  had  always 
sung  in  this  way,  the  medium  tone  was  not  strong 
in  the  beginning,  whereas  the  forced  tone  was  like 
a  trumpet.  She  began  to  improve,  nevertheless,  until 
one  day  she  came  in,  saying  that  by  the  advice  of  a 


THE  FEMALE  VOICE  77 

certain  Boston  conductor  who  had  told  her  mother 
that  he  thought  it  was  better  for  a  woman  to  study 
with  a  woman,  her  mother  had  decided  to  have  her 
go  to  Boston  for  lessons.  This  was  agreeable  to  me, 
but  I  warned  her  not  to  forget  what  I  had  told  her 
about  the  abuse  of  her  chest  tones.  Just  before  this 
I  had  procured  a  fine  position  for  her  in  a  fashion- 
able church,  where  they  made  much  of  her  when  she 
used  her  "trumpet"  tone. 

I  did  not  hear  her  sing  after  she  began  her  studies 
in  Boston.  She  had  sung  for  perhaps  a  year  in  this 
church  when  its  rector  had  a  call  to  another  city  and, 
accepting,  he  took  his  organist  and  this  young  con- 
tralto with  him.  The  organist's  home  was  near 
Providence  and  he  used  to  spend  his  vacation  at 
home,  often  calling  on  me  when  in  town.  On  one  of 
these  occasions  I  asked  him  about  the  contralto. 
"How  is  Miss —  coming  on  with  her  singing?"  "Oh," 
replied  he.  "She  doesn't  sing  at  all  now;  she  seems 
to  have  lost  her  voice,  and  strange  to  say  she  blames 
me  for  it!" 

"Blames  you?  How's  that?"  "Oh,  she  says  that 
I  made  her  sing  too  much,  but  she  sang  no  more 
than  the  rest  of  the  choir  and  I  confess  I  do  not 
understand  it."  "Well,"  said  I,  "I  do.  I  told  her  that 
unless  she  changed  her  method  of  using  her  lower 
tones  she  would  lose  the  entire  voice."  "And  so  she 
has,"  said  he.  "She  had  to  give  up  her  position  and 
is  now  a  trained  nurse."  These  stories  have  their 
own  moral  and  I  leave  the  reader  to  find  it  out. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A    SINGER'S    SELF-DEVELOPMENT 

THERE  WAS  BROUGHT  TO  ME  at  one  time  by 
his  mother  a  young  man,  C.  B.  D.  Mrs.  D. 
wanted  him  taught  to  sing  and  because  I  had  known 
the  family  I  consented  to  begin  lessons  with  him. 
The  case  was  not  at  all  promising.  There  was 
little  voice  apparent,  so  little  that  a  listener 
would  have  thought  that  I  felt  the  need  of  pupils 
greatly  to  have  taken  this  one.  He  came  perhaps 
six  or  more  times,  but  I  could  not  seem  to  interest 
him  and  finally  told  him  that  he  need  not  come 
again.  He  was  rather  nettled  at  this  but  I  insisted 
and  he  left  in  something  of  a  dudgeon  and  I  saw  no 
more  of  him  for  about  two  years,  I  believe,  when  one 
day  he  appeared  and  asked  if  I  would  hear  him  sing. 
I  was  busy  and  said 'so.  In  another  day  or  so  he  reap- 
peared, when  again  I  declined  to  hear  him.  Nothing 
daunted,  he  returned  a  third  time,  when  I,  being  for 
the  moment  unoccupied  and  desiring  to  get  rid  of 
him,  consented  to  listen. 

He  began  and  I  was  amazed  at  the  improvement 
he  had  made.  "I  must  congratulate  you!"  I  said. 
"Wherever  you  are  studying,  there  you  should  stay, 
for  you  did  nothing  at  all  with  me."  "I  haven't 
studied  anywhere,"  he  replied.  "When  you  sent  me 
home  that  day  I  began  to  think  over  what  you  had 

78 


A   SINGER'S   SELF-DEVELOPMENT  79 

told  me  and  to  practice,  and  I  find  that  I  like  it  and 
I  practice  about  all  the  time.  Now  will  you  take  me 
back?"  Of  course  I  did,  and  he  improved  wonder- 
fully. After  a  while  he  went  to  New  York  to  study 
medicine,  coming  home  about  once  each  six  months, 
I  should  say.  Every  time  he  called  I  found  him  im- 
proved so  much  that  I  naturally  thought  he  was 
studying  with  some  teacher  there.  "No,"  he  would 
say,  "I'm  working  it  out  by  myself."  And  so  he  did, 
for  he  never  had  any  lessons  except  of  me,  and  these 
were  so  few  and  desultory  that  I  cannot  claim  him 
as  one  of  my  products.  He  became  so  excellent  a 
singer  that  my  friend  Campanari  offered  to  intro- 
duce him  to  the  Metropolitan  Opera  managers,  ad- 
vising him  to  apply  to  them  for  an  engagement. 
This  he  did  not  do,  but  he  sang  at  many  important 
concerts  and  always  with  success. 

He  came  into  my  studio  one  day  in  high  spirits. 
"Listen,"  said  he,  "I  sang  in  Salem  last  night,  in 
Mendelssohn's  'St.  Paul/  and  I  thought  I  had  done 
unusually  well  and  at  the  close  of  my  last  solo  I 
took  a  high  note  not  written  in  the  score,  to  be  sure, 
but  effective  and — well  I  just  felt  like  doing  it,  and 
I  got  a  good  hand  for  it,  too.  But  after  the  concert 
at  the  hotel  I  saw  Carl  Zerrahn,  the  conductor,  and 
I  stepped  up  to  him  expecting  a  compliment  of  some 
sort,  which  was  not  forthcoming.  I  said :  'Well, 
Mr.  Zerrahn,  were  you  not  pleased  with  what  I  did?' 
He  turned,  gave  me  a  look  of  contempt  or  perhaps 
pity,  saying  in  his  peculiarly  rich  but  broken  Eng- 
lish: 'No,  no,  I  did  not  like  it  at  all,  dat  wass  not 
Mendelssohn,  it  was  Ta — viss,  too  much  Ta — viss'!" 

Well,  I've  told  his  name  and  I  did  not  mean  to. 


80  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

But  he  won't  mind  and  I  doubt  if  this  ever  meets  his 
eye. 

Here  is  another  memory  of  him.  One  day  he  came 
to  me,  saying:  "Let  me  sing  the  tenor  solo  and  reci- 
tative in  'Elijah' — 'Ye  people'  and  'If  with  all  your 
hearts;'  and  don't  say  anything  till  I  am  through." 
"All  right,"  I  said;  "go  ahead."  Placing  his  derby 
hat  away  back  on  his  head,  he  began  as  though  pos- 
sessed of  the  evil  one,  but  on  coming  to  the  words 
"For  he  is  slow  to  anger,"  he  changed  them  to  "But 
he  is  never  angry,"  whereupon  I  cried  out:  "Stop !  - 
what  right  have  you  to  change  those  words?" 

"He  exclaimed :  "I  don't  believe  God  is  ever  angry 
and  I'll  be  d— d  if  I  sing  it  that  way!"  "You're  too 
wise  for  me,"  said  I.  "Good  day,  good  day."  Out  he 
went,  but  in  a  day  or  two  he  appeared  again,  this 
time  wanting  to  sing  the  beautiful  solo  in  the  Verdi 
"Requiem,".  "Ingemisco"  which  he  sang  as  well  as 
could  be  desired. 

Having  just  spoken  of  Carl  Zerrahn,  I  may  add  in 
this  place  another  reference  to  that  sterling  mu- 
sician. 

Mr.  A.  C.  Munroe,  President  of  the  Worcester 
County  Musical  Association  for  many  years,  during 
whose  term  of  office  the  Worcester  Music  Festivals 
reached  a  high  plane  of  excellence,  was  an  assid- 
uous attendant  upon  the  Arion  Club  concerts  in 
Providence,  rarely  missing  one  of  them.  Mr.  Zer- 
rahn was  and  had  been  for  years  the  highly  es- 
teemed conductor  of  the  Festivals  and  had  shown 
many  times  his  friendliness  toward  me  when  I  had 
sung  at  the  Festivals  in  Worcester  and  in  other 
places.  But  Mr.  Zerrahn  had  his  own  pupils  whose 
interests  he  naturally  felt  bound  to  further  and  he 


A   SINGER'S   SELF-DEVELOPMENT  81 

was  not  particularly  pleased  when  Mr.  Munroe 
engaged  me  to  go  to  Worcester  to  conduct  the 
rehearsals  when  Mr.  Zerrahn  had  other  engage- 
ments. Consequently  at  one  time  when  I  had  been 
engaged  to  sing  at  the  Festival  in  Gounod's 
"Redemption,"  I  found  upon  my  arrival  for  rehear- 
sals that  Mr.  Zerrahn  was  very  cool  toward  me. 
This,  after  several  years  of  cordiality,  I  noticed,  but 
Mr.  Munroe  begged  me  not  to  be  troubled  by  it, 
explaining  the  reason. 

At  the  rehearsal  of  the  "Redemption"  Mr.  Zer- 
rahn scarcely  looked  at  me  but  after  the  perform- 
ance, as  I  was  leaving  the  stage,  he  bent  over  from 
his  platform  and  said  to  me:  "Mr.  Jordan,  that  is  the 
most  artistic  singing  I  have  ever  heard  in  Wor- 
cester!" "Dear  old  man,"  thought  I.  "Your  heart's 
in  the  right  place,  after  all!"  A  week  or  so  after  this, 
as  I  was  walking  along  the  street  in  Providence,  a 
well-known  German  physician,  Dr.  William  Von 
Gottschalk,  stopped  me  exclaiming:  "Do  you  know 
what  Zerrahn  says  about  you?"  "I  know  what  he 
said  to  me  a  short  time  ago;  why?"  He  then 
repeated  Zerrahn's  remark  almost  word  for  word.  I 
did  not  need  this  confirmation,  for  I  knew  Mr. 
Zerrahn  was  too  sincere  a  man  and  musician  to  flat- 
ter anyone. 

One  morning  a  few  days  after  the  first  "Redemp- 
tion" performance  in  Boston,  I  happened  into  the 
music  store  of  the  Oliver  Ditson  Company,  then  on 
Washington  Street,  when  one  of  the  clerks  coming 
to  me  said  that  Mr.  Ditson  wanted  to  speak  with  me. 
I  went  to  the  office,  which  was  at  the  back  of  the 
store.  Mr.  Ditson,  his  face  wearing  a  friendly  smile, 
greeted  me  cordially,  saying  that  he  wished  to  tell 


82  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

me  how  greatly  he  had  enjoyed  my  singing  in  the 
"Redemption."  He  spoke  kindly  of  the  sympathetic 
quality  of  my  voice  and  commended  me  highly  for 
what  he  termed  the  excellence  of  my  enunciation  of 
the  words  and  for  the  devotional  quality  of  my  entire 
performance.  I  can  never  forget  his  kindly  manner 
toward  me  and  shall  always  remember  him  thus, 
interested  and  benignant. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  RESTORATION  OF  A  VOICE 

SOON  AFTER  I  began  to  study  singing  with 
Mr.  Osgood  in  Boston,  my  improvement  was 
so  marked  that  several  other  Providence  singers  fol- 
lowed my  example,  going  to  the  same  teacher  for 
instruction.  One  of  these,  Mr.  H.  E.  Brown,  a  par- 
ticular friend  of  mine,  the  possessor  of  an  unusually 
fine  tenor  voice,  came  to  me,  saying:  "I  think  that 
I  had  better  study  with  you,  as  it  takes  too  much  of 
my  time  from  business  to  go  to  Boston."  He  began 
lessons  with  me  and  was  satisfied  with  the  change, 
saying  one  day:  "There  is  an  old  friend  of  mine, 
William  Flint,  with  whom  I  have  sung  for  years  in 
church,  at  Masonic  meetings  and  in  various  other 
places,  who  wants  to  come  to  you  for  lessons."  "Flint 
— Flint?  Why  his  voice  is  utterly  gone,  they  tell 
me?"  "That's  true;  he  cannot  sing  at  all  and  it's  a 
pity  too,  for  he  loves  to  sing  better  than  to  do  any- 
thing else  and  he's  about  broken-hearted  because  he 
cannot."  "He's  more  than  fifty  years  old,  isn't  he?" 
"Yes,  I  think  that  he's  about  fifty-five."  "Well  at 
that  age  and  with  his  voice  in  that  condition,  I  think 
the  attempt  would  be  useless.  I  can  tell  him  wherein 
he  has  been  wrong  and  what  he  should  do,  but  I 
doubt  the  result  very  much." 

Brown  begged  me  to  make  the  trial  and  I  con- 

83 


84  THE  HAPPENINGS   OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

sented.  I  had  known  Mr.  Flint  as  a  very  earnest 
singer  with  unusual  natural  talent  for  interpreta- 
tion, with  a  fine  bass  voice  which  was,  however,  bad- 
ly produced.  He  came  to  me,  and  when  I  asked  him 
to  sing  the  attempt  was  really  pitiful,  his  voice  sound- 
ing much  like  a  phonograph  just  as  it  "runs  down." 
He  could  sustain  a  tone  for  about  two  seconds,  after 
which  it  would  tremblingly  cease,  always  dropping 
from  the  pitch. 

I  told  him  that  it  seemed  to  me  useless  to  try.  He 
begged  me  to  "see  what  I  could  do."  We  began, 
but  he  had  been  through  so  much  discouragement 
and  disappointment  with  various  teachers  that  he 
wanted  proof  of  everything  that  I  said  to  him  about 
his  voice  and  singing,  as  Mr.  Brown  had  warned  me 
he  would.  I  was  patient  with  him,  but  it  was  several 
weeks  before  I  could  see  any  change  whatsoever. 
Finally  as  he  began  to  drop  his  old  habits  and  to 
take  on  the  new  ones  I  was  striving  for,  I  detected 
a  promising  change.  This  encouraged  him  and  he 
was  more  assiduous  than  ever,  if  that  could  be  pos- 
sible. He  now  began  to  improve  very  much  and 
we  began  to  sing  pieces,  new  to  him,  for  I  knew 
that  in  the  old  pieces  his  old  habits  would  appear. 
I  gave  him  one  of  the  bass  arias  in  Meyerbeer's 
"Dinorah,"  which  he  sang  so  well  at  one  lesson 
that  I  said:  "Mr.  Flint,  if  you  sing  that  as  well  at 
the  next  lesson  I  will  have  you  sing  at  our  next 
Arion  concert."  "No,"  said  he,  "you  don't  mean 
that."  "I  certainly  do."  He  sang  at  the  concert, 
much  to  the  astonishment  and  joy  of  his  many 
friends.  Indeed  he  was  so  successful  that  one  prom- 
inent musician  present  at  the  concert  exclaimed 
as  he  finished:  "A  miracle!  A  resurrection!"  so 


THE  RESTORATION  OF  A  VOICE  85 

loudly  that  he  was  heard  by  many,  some  of  whom 
told  me  of  the  circumstance. 

Mr.  Flint  never  lost  an  opportunity  to  show  his 
gratitude  to  me.  About  two  years  after  this  I  had 
a  serious  illness  that  necessitated  a  surgical  oper- 
ation for  which  I  was  taken  to  a  hospital  where, 
after  several  weeks  of  doubt  and  anxiety,  I  was 
pronounced  out  of  danger  and  convalescent.  Mr. 
Flint  about  that  time  was  under  a  doctor's  care  for 
an  incurable  disease.  He  called  on  me  at  the  hospi- 
tal one  afternoon.  After  a  pleasant  chat,  and  as 
he  was  taking  his  leave,  he  said:  "Well,  Jordan, 
you'll  soon  be  out  of  this  and  I  shall  be  glad  but  I — 
I  have  about  two  more  weeks  of  outdoor  life,  the 
doctor  tells  me,  and  then  I  shall  be  confined  to  the 
house  till  the  end  comes — for  me." 

I  tried  to  cheer  him  but  he  had  stoically  accepted 
his  fate.  He  asked  me  to  dine  at  his  home  as  soon  as 
I  should  be  able.  So,  after  I  was  well,  a  day  was  set 
and  I  went  to  fulfill  the  engagement.  He  had  not 
been  out  of  the  house  for  a  week  or  more  and  was 
failing  fast. 

"Come,"  said  he  after  dinner,  "Come,  I  want  to 
sing."  We  went  to  the  piano  and  he  sang  several 
songs  as  well  as  I  had  ever  heard  him  sing,  his  wife 
in  tears  the  while,  sitting  by.  Finally  he  said :  "Just 
one  more  and  I'm  done."  He  put  before  me,  as  I 
sat  at  the  piano,  to  play  his  accompaniments,  a  copy 
of  Dudley  Buck's  "Crossing  the  Bar,"  which  he  sang 
with  great  feeling,  so  that  I  was  in  tears,  as  was 
Mrs.  Flint.  He  then  closed  the  piano,  saying,  "That's 
all."  The  next  time  I  was  at  his  house  was  when  I 
went  to  attend  his  funeral. 


86  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

The  Development  of  a  Voice 

Soon  after  Mr.  Flint  had  begun  to  improve  so  re- 
markably there  came  to  me  for  lessons  a  young  man, 
Mr.  Walter  J.  Towne.  His  family  and  that  of  the 
Flints  were  intimately  acquainted,  both  families 
living  in  the  large  double  house  belonging  to  the 
Townes  and  both  being  musical.  Mr.  Flint  was  like 
the  hero  of  an  old  poem  I  used  to  know: 

"Upright  and  downright,  scorning  wrong, 
He  gave  good  weight  and  paid  his  way. 
Whenever  a  rascal  strove  to  pass 
Instead  of  silver  a  coin  of  brass, 
John  shook  his  head  and  said  with  a  frown, 
'Your  coin  is  spurious,  nail  it  down'." 
When  Mr.  Flint  learned  that  Mr.  Towne  had  be- 
gun lessons  he  came  at  once  to  me  saying,  "You're 
conscientious,  I  know,  and  mean  to  do  right,  but 
you've  made  a  mistake  to  take  Walter  Towne  for 
a  pupil.    He  hasn't  any  voice,  as  you  must  know, 
and  it's  wrong  to  give  him  any  hope  that  he  can 
sing."    Quite  an  indictment,  was  it  not!    "You  are 
right  and  yet  you  are  wrong,"  said  I.    "Mr.  Towne 
has  a  keen  desire  to  sing,  he  has  a  fine  ear,  he  has 
education   and   great  intelligence,    and   I   am   sure 
that  we  can  develop  a  voice  for  singing."   Mr.  Flint 
had  had  his  say  and  I  mine,  and  so  we  were  both 
satisfied. 

Mr.  Towne  improved  rapidly  and  steadily.  I  don't 
remember  how  long  it  was  before  one  day  I  received 
a  letter  from  a  prominent  organist  in  town,  Mr. 
Eben  Kelly,  of  the  First  Congregational  (Unitarian) 
Church,  the  same  who  had  exclaimed,  "A  miracle!  A 
resurrection!"  when  he  heard  Flint  sing  at  the  Arion 
concert  before  referred  to.  He  asked  me  if  I  had  a 


THE  RESTORATION  OF  A  VOICE  87 

tenor  who  could  take  the  position  of  soloist  in  his 
choir.  I  told  him  of  Mr.  Towne.  I  said:  "He  is  not 
yet  quite  ready,  but  if  you  will  take  him  on  and 
help  him  as  you  can,  he  will  make  a  valuable  man 
for  you."  This  he  did.  Mr.  Towne's  excellent  tenor 
served  him  well  in  that  choir. 

Two  Hopeless  Cases 

After  more  than  fifty  years  experience  in  teaching 
singing  I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  have  found  but  two 
cases  that  I  consider  were  hopeless.  One  was  that 
of  a  man  with  a  fine  tenor  voice,  that  is  to  say  a 
voice  naturally  high  in  pitch  and  of  tenor  quality; 
but  he  was  absolutely  devoid  of  ear. 

I  gave  him  a  thorough  trial  and  told  him  frankly 
that  he  never  could  hope  to  sing.  When  I  would 
play  or  sing  the  scale,  up  or  down,  he  would  stay 
on  the  tone  he  happened  to  strike,  (not  the  one  I 
gave  him),  or,  trying  to  change,  would  invariably 
get  the  wrong  pitch.  However  he  insisted  that  he 
wanted  to  keep  on  with  me.  I  told  him  that  it  was 
my  business  to  teach  and  that  I  would  try  though 
I  knew  it  was  hopeless.  So  I  did  my  best,  inventing 
exercises  to  fit  his  case. 

Sometimes  I  would  get  a  gleam  of  hope  but  the 
next  moment  it  would  vanish.  Finally  one  day  he 
exclaimed:  "Well,  Jordan,  I  think  that  you  are 
right  and  I  had  better  give  it  up."  "That's  a  wise 
decision,"  said  I.  "But  tell  me,  why  did  you  insist 
when  I  said  at  the  outset  that  it  was  hopeless?" 
"Why,"  said  he,  "my  sister  told  me  that  I  never 
could  sing  and  I  said,  "I'll  be  d — d  but  I  will!" 

Strange  to  say,  soon  after  this  a  similar  case  pre- 
sented itself  when  a  young  man  applied  for  lessons. 


88  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

I  declined  even  to  undertake  the  task,  saying  that 
I  had  had  several  weeks  of  such  an  experience  and 
that  was  enough  to  last  the  rest  of  my  musical  life. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
A   WELL-REMUNERATED   SERVICE 

MUCH  HAS  BEEN  written  and  said  about  my 
forty  years  of  unremimerated  service  as  con- 
ductor of  the  Arion  Club.  Unremunerated  indeed! 
Have  I  not  had  the  love  and  loyalty,  all  these  years, 
of  a  host  of  friends  and  co-workers?  Have  I  not  had 
the  privilege  of  studying  great  works  that  otherwise 
I  should  have  neglected  and  have  I  not  had  the  joy 
and  satisfaction  of  high  aims,  for  the  most  part  well 
attained  in  the  performances  of  these  masterpieces? 
Unremunerated  indeed !  It  should  be  remembered, 
too,  that  there  have  been  times  of  financial  stress 
and  had  I  bargained  for  a  price  for  my  services  there 
would  then  have  been  no  forty  years  of  achieve- 
ment to  remember  with  pride. 

I  was  offered,  even  urged  to  accept,  a  fee  in  the 
beginning  of  our  career  but  I  preferred  that  every- 
thing should  go  to  make  the  concerts  as  excellent 
as  possible.  Yet  at  one  time  I  was  really  forced  to 
accept  a  sum  of  money  with  which  to  buy  myself 
a  present  when  in  Europe  and  I  did  so — a  little 
gold  Cupid,  playing  upon  pan-pipes  and  a  fine  pair 
of  opera  glasses. 

At  one  time  I  was  seriously  ill  in  a  hospital  for 
several  weeks.  My  room  there  was  filled  to  over- 
flowing, day  by  day,  with  flowers  from  many  of  my 

89 


90  THE   HAPPENINGS   OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

devoted  friends  and  the  following  Christmas  these 
and  others  made  me  the  handsome  present  of  a 
purse  of  gold  coin  to  the  amount  of  $750,  and  now 
at  the  close  of  forty  years  another  purse  of  $1650, 
presented  with  such  an  address  as  only  President 
Faunce  can  make,  has  crowned  the  long  term  of 
my  service.  For  all  this  I  am  indeed  grateful  beyond 
the  power  of  words  to  express.  The  names  of  those 
who  made  me  the  Christmas  present  in  1906  were 
written  on  a  parchment  scroll  as  follows:  "With 
Merry  Christmas  and  in  grateful  recognition  of 
years  past  from  your  friends, 

"Susan  C.  Beane,  Josephine  Angier  Binney,  Isa- 
belle  Nichols  Binney,  Emma  Carpenter  Bullock, 
Mary  T.  Cady,  H.  N.  Campbell,  Mrs.  Charles  E. 
Carpenter,  Edward  F.  Child,  Mary  Bradford  Child, 
E.  S.  Clark,  Emily  A.  Corliss,  Maria  L.  Corliss,  Min- 
erva G.  Curtis,  Henry  I.  Cushman,  Lucy  D.  Car- 
penter Cushman,  Sarah  L.  Danielson,  Alice  Dor- 
ranee,  Charles  Z.  Eddy,  E.  A.  H.  Gammell,  William 
Goddard,  George  Harris,  Jane  Harris,  Adelaide  K. 
Hodgman,  Caroline  T.  Howland,  Laura  Mason, 
Edith  Nichols,  Isabelle  B.  S.  Nichols,  Mabel  A. 
Palmer  Potter,  Charles  O.  Read,  Alice  K.  Sturges, 
Harold  P.  Waterman." 

The  donors  of  the  purse  presented  me  at  the  clos- 
ing concert  of  the  Arion  Club  on  May  17,  1921,  I 
copy  from  the  list  accompanying  the  gift : 

"Contributors  to  fund  for  Dr.  Jules  Jordan  to  cel- 
ebrate the  completion  of  forty  years  as  conductor 
of  the  Arion  Club,  Providence,  May  17,  1921. 

"Mrs.  William  Hodgman,  Miss  Hope  Hodgman  in 
memory  of  Mrs.  B.  B.  Knight,  Mrs.  R.  G.  Hazard, 
Miss  C.  Hazard,  Miss  Ellen  D.  Sharpe,  Mrs.  Jesse 


A  WELL-REMUNERATED  SERVICE  91 

H.  Metcalf,  Mrs.  G.  G.  King,  Mrs.  Z.  Chafee,  Mrs. 
N.  T.  Bacon,  Miss  C.  Hazard  in  memory  of  F.  R. 
Hazard,  Miss  Maria  L.  Corliss,  C.  O.  Read,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  J.  U.  Starkweather,  Mrs.  E.  A.  Gammell,  Mrs. 
Lucy  D.  Carpenter  Cushman,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  F. 
Carpenter,  Mrs.  H.  F.  Hinckley,  Miss  Mary  B.  Child, 
Mrs.  H.  A.  Whitmarsh,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  P.  Chapin, 
Miss  C.  E.  Ballou,  Miss  E.  C.  Lawton,  Mrs.  Alice  K. 
Sturges,  Mrs.  C.  Prescott  Knight,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John 
H.  Mason,  Mrs.  Robert  W.  Burbank,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
H.  N.  Campbell,  Mrs.  Isabelle  N.  Binney,  Miss  Edith 
Nichols,  Jeffrey  Davis." 

Besides  these  who  were  ever  ready  to  contribute 
toward  any  Arion  Club  deficits  that  occurred  from 
time  to  time  were  L.  M.  Robinson,  D.  P.  Moulton, 
William  C.  Baker,  William  Gammell,  Charles  R. 
Stark,  L.  C.  Baldwin,  Mrs.  Daniel  Beckwith,  Mrs. 
Isaac  Potter,  John  Shepard,  Jr.,  George  A.  Jepher- 
son,  Miss  Florence  Bartlett,  Mrs.  Frank  A.  Sayles, 
Miss  Marguerite  L.  D  wight,  Mrs.  Webster  Knight, 
Miss  Lyra  Brown  Nickerson,  Henry  C.  Dexter,  Dr. 
W.  L.  Chapman,  Rev.  J.  R.  Bourgeois,  Bishop 
Matthew  Harkins,  James  Parkinson,  Mrs.  Jane 
Brown  Jones,  Mrs.  George  S.  Mathews,  Oscar  Swan- 
son,  James  R.  MacColl,  Henry  D.  Sharpe,  Mrs.  Mer- 
•win  White,  John  Kershaw,  S.  H.  Tingley,  William 
Estes,  J.  T.  Cranshaw,  Mrs.  C.  Prescott  Knight,  Hor- 
ace F.  Carpenter  and  others. 


CHAPTER  XX 

ARION  CLUB  MEMBERS 

THE  "charter"  members  of  the  Arion  Club,  i.  e. 
those  who  sang  in  the   first  concert,  February 
16,  1881,  were  as  follows: 


Mr.  Herbert  E.  Brown, 
1  W.  Hunter  Brown, 
"  William  Blodget, 


FIRST  TENORS 

Mr.  C.  B.  Davis, 
Dr.  A.  E.  Ham, 


Mr.  Frederic  Gardner, 
"     J.  U.  Starkweather. 


Mr.  Charles   H.    Buckley, 
"     George   A.    Barton, 
"     Robert   W.    Burbank, 


SECOND  TENORS 

Mr.  J.  C.  W.  Cole. 
"     W.  Ward  Fuller, 
"     Irving  P.  Irons, 


Mr.  A.   E.   Kimball, 
"    D.  W.  Kimball. 


Mr.  R.   C.   Bourn, 
"     R.  W.  Bourne, 
•'     T.   P.   Bogert, 
"     H.  N.   Campbell,  Jr., 


FIRST  BASSES 

Mr.  R.   B.  Chapman, 
Col.  Elisha  Dyer,   Jr., 
Mr.  Eugene  W.  Mason, 
."     Erford  L.   Martin, 


Mr.  J.  Frank  Porter, 
"  Charles  O.  Read, 
"  D.  C.  H.  Tinkham. 


Mr.  Johns  H.   Congdon, 
Edward   P.    Chapin, 

"     F.  R.  Chapman, 
Mr.  Jeffrey  Davis, 

"     Joseph  P.  Day, 


SECOND  BASSES 

Mr.  William   Goddard, 
Rev.  George   Harris, 
Mr.  F.  R.  Hazard, 
"     Charles   S.    Hood, 


Mr.  J.  William  Rice, 

"     S.  E.  Tucker, 

"     J.  M.   Vose 

"     J.  E.  Williams 


Mrs.  G.  E.  C.   Bumngton, 
"     William   Binney, 

Miss  E.    Grace   Carpenter 
"     Dora  E.   Curtis, 

Mrs.  H.   X.   Campbell,  Jr., 
"     R.  H.  I.  Goddard, 
•'     Grace  Hiltz   Gleason 


FIRST  SOPRANOS 

Miss  Alice  M.  Horton, 
Mrs.  Jeffrey   Hazard, 
'     George  Harris, 
"     Aide   Hubbard, 
"     E.   J    Kettlety, 
"     Lizzie   B.    Lapham, 
Mrs.  W.   B.   M.   Miller, 

92 


Miss  Susan    McKay, 
"     Mary  J.   Muir, 
"     E.    B.   Okie, 
•     Hattie  C.    Richards, 
Mary   D.   Sharpe. 

Mrs.  George  H.  Adams. 


ROBERT    BONNER 

First    President    of    the 

Arion   Club 


JOHNS    H.    CONGDON 

Third    President    of   the 

Arion  Club 


HORACE    F.    CARPENTER 

Sixth   President   of   the 

Arion  Club 


GEORGE  A.  JEPHERSON 

Seventh   President   of   the 

Arion   Club 


ARION  CLUB  MEMBERS 


93 


Miss   Emma   C.    Carpenter, 
Mrs.  Thomas  A.   Cobb, 

"     R.  B.  Chapman, 
Miss  Elinor  Dunn, 


Miss  B.   J.   Ballou, 
"     E.  J.   Ballou, 
'     Ada   Byron    Coombs, 
"     E.  Louise  Elliott, 


Miss  Susan  C.  Beane, 
"  Mary  B.  Childs, 
"  Minnie  G.  Curtis, 


SECOND  SOPRANOS 

Miss  Edna  B.  Hale, 
Mary    Lawton, 
"     Ida   G.   Mumford, 
Mrs.  H.    G.   Pitman, 
Miss  Alida   E.   Sprague, 

FIRST  ALTOS 

Mrs.  W.   R.   Greene, 
Miss  Addie  M.  Knight, 
Mrs.  Benjamin    Mason, 


SECOND  ALTOS 

Miss  Lucy   D.    Carpenter, 
Mrs.  E.  P.  Chapin, 
Miss  Carrie  B.  Howard, 


Mrs.  H.  O.  Sturges, 

"     J.   L.   Wadsworth, 
Miss  E.   A.  Walker, 
Mrs.  Joshua  Wilbour. 


Mrs.  Mary  E.  Rawson, 
Miss  Annie  R.  Rawson, 
Mrs.  Cora  Bishop  Stone. 


Miss  Caroline  Hazard, 
"  M.  Anna  Taylor, 
"  E.  A.  Taft. 


Following  is  a  list,  as  nearly  complete  as  possible, 
of  the  succeeding  members  of  the  Arion  Club  during 
its  career  of  forty  years : 


Andrew,  Alfred  J. 
Adams,  T.  M. 
Anthony,    C.    R. 
Arnold,   C.   T. 
Anthony,  A.   H. 
Appleton,  E. 
Ash,  A.  C. 
Anderson,  J.  A. 
Anthony,  Frank  J. 
Armstrong,    Harry 
Adams,  K.  E. 
Alexander,   Joseph 
Anderson,  F.   E. 
Arthur,  William 
Barker,    Ray    S. 
Burrow,  Charles  I. 
Burrow,  Albert  E. 
Barrus,   Daniel   A. 
Braman,  Charles  E. 
Bixby,  E.   C. 


Men 


Bassett,  T.  P. 
Bratesman,    Fred 
Beale,  .Robert  W. 
Brown,  Samuel 
Brown,  Dr.   J.   Edmund 
Briggs,  H.  J. 
Brown,  A.  C. 
Basford,  M.  W. 
Boardman,   S.    H. 
Blair,  J.  R. 
Butler,  D.  H. 
Bowers,  L.  G. 
Burton,   William 
Bourne,  Fred.  N. 
Beauchamp,  Harry 
Ballou,  Edward   R. 
Ballou,  F.  D. 
Bryant,  G.  O. 
Brown,  Ansel  D. 
Butler,  D.  H. 


94 


THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 


Baker,   R.   L. 
Barber,  M.  J. 
Barber,  C.  H. 
Boudreau,   Roderick 
Brown,   Harold   A. 
Briggs,  Benj.  F. 
Bixby,  Merle 
Bourne,  Robert 
Ballou,   Frederick  D. 
Baker,   Jesse   T. 
Brown,  Anthony  E. 
Briggs,  J.   C. 
Bouchard,  Lloyd 
Capron,  George  H. 
Carpenter,   Horace   F. 
Clark,  Edw.  S. 
Corp,  J.  M. 
Church,  B.  L. 
Chace,  Isaac  F. 
Chapman,  Dr.  W.  Louis 
Cameron,  J.  E. 
Colwell,  P.  A. 
Carpenter,  Ray 
Chandler,  A.  R. 
Clapp,  F.  0. 
Charlesworth,  Wm.  J. 
Gumming,  John 
Cady,  John  H. 
Clark,  Irving  F. 
Cartier,  H.  J. 
Cady,  William  H. 
Colburn,  G.  B. 
Chadbourne,  F.  G. 
Cooper,  Gerald 
Craig,  R.  G. 
Calder,  C.  T. 
Daniels,  Thomas  H.  R. 
Darling,  W.  L. 
Dart,  W.  C. 
Denison,  Louis 
Deffley,  Frank 


Downes,  J.   E. 

Drake,  John 

Dudley,  G.  W. 

Dinnui,  Nicola 

Dover,  Geo.  W. 

Dixon,  Geo.  P. 

Disbrow,  F.   A. 

Easton,  Frank  B. 

Evans,  Wm.  D. 

Eaton,  R.  T. 

Enos,  J.  S. 

Estes,  W.  W. 

Eaton,  W.  F. 
Eldridge,  B.  S. 

Fiske,  George  I. 

Flint,  W.  W. 
Freeman,  George  A. 
Farrell,  L.  R. 
Fessenden,  E. 
Farrell,  John 
Fontes,  Anthony  E. 
Francis,  V.  A. 
Goodspeed,   C.   A. 
Goff,  H.  A. 
Gillan,  Dr.  W.  F.  A. 
Goddard,    William 
Grimes,  Robert  W. 
Gannett,  W.  P.  Jr. 
Gleason,  Dr.  W.  F. 
Greene,  E.  S. 
Gardiner,  Arthur 
Gorman,  Harry 
Gillan,  William 
Greeley,  John  F. 
Gardner,  E.  E. 
Greeley,  Frank  B. 
Greenhalgh,  James 
Gardiner,  Ray 
Green,  G.  M. 
Holmes,  E.  M. 
Hart,  B.  J. 


H.  N.  CAMPBELL 
Fourth   President  of  the  Ariou    Club 


ARION  CLUB  MEMBERS 


95 


Hancock,   Artemus 
Ham,  L. 

Henderson,  Thomas 
Henderson,  J.  J. 
Higgins,  William  E. 
Hall,  C.  Everett 
Hasbrouck,  Dr.  I.  D. 
Hopkins,  G.  E. 
Hull,  B.  Frank 
Huddy,  F.  I. 
Higgins,  Alfred 
Harman,  Bert 
Hadfield,  George  0. 
Heltzen,  O.  L. 
Heilig,  E.  W.' 
Hyde,  Charles  W. 
Helm,  A.  S. 
Hawkinson,  Arthur 
Hunt,  Edward 
Huntsman,   E. 
Hazard,  Rowland  G. 
Hull,  Thomas  F. 
Holmes,  A.  J. 
Holbrook,  H.  W. 
Heyworth,  George  S. 
Jaques,  Thomas  M. 
Jewett,  Dr.  F.   B. 
Jordan,  L.  F. 
Joy,  A.  B. 
Jillson,  F.  A. 
King,  James 
Kershaw,  John 
Kelley,  Dr.  J.  S. 
Kettner,  Ralph 
Kearns,  William 
Kiernan,  J.  F. 
Kearns,  Thomas 
Ladd,  A.  L. 
Lindroth,  Alfred 
Lowe,  William  H. 
Lee,  Oscar  F. 


Lynch,  Dr.  James  A. 
Livingston,  Thomas 
Linn,  D.  B. 
Lally,  W.  T. 
Learned,  W.  S. 
Lawton,  F.  C. 
Lenz,  G.  R. 
Lemay,  Joseph  P. 
Lester,  F.  A. 
Le  Maire,  A.  E. 
Lomas,  Harry 
Lent,  L.  B. 
Lariviere,    Edward 
Levin,  B. 
La  Mothe,  Joseph 
Loxsom,  John 
Lane,   W.   R. 
Lariviere,  Laurent 
Moss,  Joe 

Morgan,  William  E. 
Mowry,  H.  J. 
Mathewson,  E.  H. 
Mathewson,  W.  A. 
MacNair,  M. 
McGovern,  Dr.  C.  E. 
Morris,  J.  A. 
Middleton,  C.  S. 
Matthews,  J.  H. 
Mason,  F.  W. 
Maguire,  John  F. 
McNeal  Thomas  H. 
McVay,  John  F. 
Mahoney,  William  H. 
Mayer,  A.  H. 
McCaffrey,  Edward  J. 
McStay,  J.  E. 
McOscor,  William 
Martin,  Norman 
MacColl,  Jas.  H. 
Martin,  Fred 
Martin,  Frederic 


96 


THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 


Murdy,  A.  Frank 
McKenna,   I. 
McCurdy,  Gordon  J. 
Nichols,  Albert  R. 
Nottage,  Dr.  H.  P. 
Nichols,  G.  P. 
Nelson,  Frederick  T. 
Owen,  H.  C. 
O'Brien,  R.  P. 
Osier,  C.  L. 
Osier,  H.  F. 
Ogden,  James  0. 
O'Rourke,  James 
Pullen,  C.  J. 
Peckham,  J.  H. 
Palmer,   Richard 
Perry,   Andrew   R. 
Phinney,  L. 
Paine,  Geo,  H. 
Phillips,  Malcom 
Paquin,  Wilfred 
Read,  Ervin  W. 
Rice,  Herbert  H. 
Robinson,  Henry  H. 
Rogers,  William  E. 
Riley,  D.  V. 
Riley,  Eugene  J. 
Reed,  C.  Franklin 
Reiss,  L.  H. 
Read,  Fred.  A. 
Ross,  William 
Robinson,  George  W. 
Robertson,   Norman   M. 
Rogers,   Elijah 
Richards,  C.  H. 
Roscoe,  Edward 
Richardson,  John 
Richardson,  Edward 
Rowse,  William 
Rogers,  Walter  E. 
Rocha,  Joseph 


Rawson,  Henry  Grendall 

Hammond 
Robinson,  S.  K.  M. 
Simmons,  Frank  B. 
Smith,  Walter  B. 
Sharpe,  Lucian 
Sharpe,  Henry  D. 
Smith,  Nathaniel  W. 
Stockwell,  George  A. 
Stott,  John 
Simmons,  H.  W. 
Smith,  F.  D. 
Shattuck,  Joseph  L. 
Sprague,  E.  L. 
Seabury,  Kirk 
Smith,  Elmer  E. 
Spink,  George  A. 
Small,  H.  W. 
Swett,  C.  E. 
Steere,  C.  A. 
Sherman,  E.  F. 
Stanley,  George  W. 
Sullivan,  M.  X. 
Shawe,  J.  N. 
Short,  A/F. 
Sullivan,  M.  J. 
Saywell,  Ernest 
Stone,  William  D. 
Stabler,  Herman 
Stanwood,  C.  Wilson 
Sprague,  N.  B. 
Saacke,  Gustav 
Storr,   Lionel   P. 
Swift,  H. 
Shannay,  J.  F. 
Thackeray,  George 
Towne,   H.  D. 
Towne,  Walter 
Towne,  E.  C. 
Tririte,  E.  C. 
Taylor,  Oliver  J. 


ARION  CLUB  MEMBERS 


97 


Thompson,  Charles 
Thurber,  T.  I. 
Tillinghast,  John  A. 
Vanderbeek,  J.  D. 
Virgin,  William  M. 
Vaughan,  F.  A. 
Waterhouse,  V.  W. 
Waterman,  Henry  A. 
Whittemore,  E.   E. 
Woodward,   Robert 
White,  F.  H. 
Weeden,  J.  V. 
Wood,  J.  F. 
Weeden,  R.  B. 


Wood,  F.  S. 
Willard,  A.  F. 
Wood,  George  G. 
Warburton,  William  R. 
White,  Henry  W. 
Wilson,  Herbert 
Walker,  Charles 
Wooley,  Arthur  H. 
Ward,  W.  G. 
Woodward,  Samuel 
Worcester,  Carleton 
Walters,  Harold  J. 
Wilkinson,  Herbert 
Young,  M.  E. 


Women 


Allan,  Miss  H.  N. 
Allen,  Miss  Florence 
Anthony,  Miss  Jennie  L. 
Allen,  Mrs.   S.  A. 
Adams,  Miss  Abby  W. 
Axe,  Miss  A.  Maud 
Axe,  Miss  Sadie 
Almy,  Miss  Mary  C. 
Arnold,  Miss  Ida  W. 
Angell,  Mrs.  A.  P. 
Anderson,  Mrs.  C.  P. 
Amison,  Miss  Annie 
Adams,  Miss  Emma 
Allen,  Miss  A.  M. 
Anderson,  Mrs.  J.  J. 
Adams,  Mrs.  W.  M. 
Aldrich,  Miss  Sarah  M. 
Aldrich,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Arnold,  Miss  Marian 
Atkinson,  Miss  K. 
Astrap,  Miss  Maud 


Baker,  Miss  Louise  C. 
Birch,  Miss  Bessie  E. 
Birch,  Miss  H.  Alida 
Bent,  Miss  Eva  M. 
Bridgham,  Miss  Ida  F. 
Barry,  Mrs. 

Buckley,  Miss  Jennie  V. 
Barker,  Mrs.  Roy  S. 
Boutelle,  Miss  Addie  M. 
Baldwin,  Miss  May 
Bradford,  Miss  Louise 
Bird,  Miss  Lily 
Burwell,  Miss  H.  R. 
Blanding,  Miss  Kate  E. 
Bruce,  Mrs.  Fannie  B. 
Bartlett,  Miss  Edith  W. 
Bowen,  Mrs.  A.  H.  A. 
Ballou,  Miss  Carrie  E. 
Bowen,  Miss  E.  F. 
Beale,  Mrs.  .Robert  W. 
Bassett,  Mrs.  S.  P. 


98 


THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 


Bowen,  Miss  Theodora  G. 
Baldwin,  Miss  Alice 
Buckland,  Miss  Grace 
Boyle,  Miss  M.  A. 
Bent,  Miss  M.  L. 
Birch,  Miss  Bessie  E. 
Baker,  Miss  Louise  C. 
Bent,  Miss  Eva  M. 
Bainton,  Miss  Florence  A. 
Beckwith,  Miss  M.  C. 
Brown,   Miss   Gertrude  T. 
Ballou,  Mrs.  C.  A. 
Budlong,  Miss  M.  F. 
Burton,  Miss  A.  K. 
Boyle,  Miss  Mabel 
Barstow,  Mrs.  Amos 
Bonney,  Miss  E.  L. 
Bradford,  Miss  Sophie 
Bamford,  Miss  Nellie 
Black,  Miss  Mary  W. 
Baron,  Miss  Julia  A. 
Brown,  Mrs.  L.  P. 
Barker,  Miss  Mary  W. 
Bridge,  Mrs.  H.  B. 
Burbank,  Mrs.  R.  W. 
Brown,  Miss  E.  E. 
Boyden,  Miss  Esther 
Beveridge,  Miss  Maud 
Bradley,  Miss  Catherine 
Brown,  Miss  Florence  C. 
Birge,  Mrs.  L.  D. 
Budlong,  Miss  Ida 
Brightman,  Miss  F.  B. 
Briggs,  Mrs.  William  R. 
Barr,  Miss  Gertrude 
Bosworth,  Mrs.  G.  E. 
Brown,  Miss  Bessie 
Boshagen,  Miss  E.  A. 
Booth,  Miss  E.  A. 
Bennett,  Miss  M.  Elsie 
Ball,  Miss  Ella  B. 


Barber,  Miss  Adelaide 
Bunce,  Miss  Caroline 
Burtwell,  Miss  Clara  E. 
Bonner,  Miss  Marian  F. 
Brown,  Miss  Annie  U. 
Bartlett,  Miss  Florence 
Barrows,  Miss   Harriott 
Bishop,  Miss  Cora 
Bishop,  Miss  Hattie 
Brown,  Miss  Alice 
Brown,  Miss  Marian 
Bushnell,    Miss    Dotha 
Bemis,  Mrs.  Charles  W. 
Bassett,  Mrs.  T.  P. 
Bevan,  Mrs.  H. 
Berquist,  Mrs.  Grace  W. 
Berquist,  Miss  Grace  M. 
Blackinton,  Mrs.  Celia 
Burton,  Miss  A.  K. 
Carpenter,  Mrs.  H.  F. 
Cobb,  Mrs.  Thomas  A. 
Cooke,  Mrs.   George 
Congdon,  Miss  Lillian 
Corliss,  M^ss  M.  L. 
Capwell,   Mrs.   Eva   R. 
Chase,  Miss  Caroline  F. 
Clarke,  Mrs.  E.  M. 
Cady,  Mrs.  Anna  B. 
Chace,  Mrs.  A.  R. 
Cameron,  Miss  Ada  B. 
Chadsey,  Mrs.   W.  N. 
Carpenter,  Miss  H.  E. 
Chaffin,  Mrs.  S.  S. 
Cooke,  Mrs.  H.  W. 
Cleveland,  Mrs.  Mary 
Campbell,  Miss  Helen 
Cameron,  Miss  Sadie  M. 
Coggeshall,  Miss  L.  M. 
Calder,  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Cooney,  Miss  Madeleine  E. 
Congdon,  Miss  Eleanor 


ARION  CLUB  MEMBERS 


Cameron,  Mrs.  J.  E. 
Chadenedes  de,  Mme.  B. 
Campbell,  Mrs.  Harriet  Fay 
Cain,  Miss  A.  P. 
Clarke,   Miss   Lydia   M. 
Conley,  Miss  A.  W. 
Chandler,  Mrs.  A.  R. 
Campbell,   Miss   Elizabeth 
Craven,  Miss  May 
Calder,  Miss  Helen  G. 
Clarke,  Miss  Maud  E. 
Crandall,  Miss  E. 
Carlin,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Casey,  Miss  Mary 
Chapin,  Miss  Ethel 
Caffrey,  Miss  Charlotte  E. 
Carroll,  Miss   Catherine 
Chase,  Mrs.  C.  O. 
Cunningham,  Miss  Mary 
Craig,  Miss  Mary  M. 
Copeland,  Miss  Marie 
Cady,  Miss  Sarah  K. 
Christy,    Miss    Helen 
Cooper,   Mrs.    Gerald 
Cone,  Miss  Jessie 
Cady,  Mrs.  John 
Coggeshall,  Miss  L.  M. 
Connell,  Mrs.  Thomas 
Collins,  Miss  Laura 
Cooke,  Miss  H. 
Carlson,  Miss  Esther 
Colbert,  Miss  Rose 
Coggeshall,  Miss  L.  M. 
Danforth,  Miss  C.  E. 
Dudman,  Miss  B.  H. 
Devereux,  Miss  G.  B.  B. 
Denison,  Miss  Fredrica 
Demers,  Mrs.  O. 
Downey,  Miss  Margaret 
Dorrance,  Miss  Alice 
Duffy,  Miss  Marion 


Drew,  Mrs.  I.  B. 
Davis,  Miss  Grace  B. 
Dubois,  Miss  D.  A.  C. 
Deady,  Miss  Julia 
Demers,  Miss  Mary 
Devenish,  Miss  Eustelle 
Douglas,    Miss    Adeline 
Donovan,  Miss  Nellie 
Dunkerly,  Miss  Margaret 
Dubois,  Miss  G.  H.  C. 
Drown,  Miss  B.  V. 
DeGruchy,  Miss  Marian 
Donahue,   Miss  Louise 
Douglass,  Miss  Jessie  M. 
Davenport,  Miss  E.  L. 
Darling,  Miss  Alice  W. 
Danielson,  Miss  Alice 
Dunford,  Miss  Bessie 
Dunford,  Miss  Winnifred 
Danforth,  Miss  C. 
Dunham,  Miss  Mary  E. 
Danler,  Miss  M. 
Davis,  Miss  Ruth 
Davis,  Miss  Bertha 
Everett,  Miss  Florence  L. 
Equi,  Miss  Clarinda  T. 
England,  Mrs.  Harriet  D. 
Enos,  Miss  Martha 
Eddy,  Mrs.  R.  H. 
Everett,  Mrs.  Charles  J. 
Field,  Miss  A.  W. 
Fiske,  Mrs.   R.  A. 
Forrester,  Miss  M.  S. 
Freeman,  Mrs.  J.  R. 
Foster,  Miss  Louise 
Frothingham,  Miss  Mary  G. 
Frates,  Miss  R.  C. 
Ferris,  Miss  Marion 
Fenner,  Mrs.   Gertrude  S. 
Garr,  Miss  Annie  M. 
George,  Miss  Evelyn 


100 


THE  HAPPENINGS   OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 


Gardner,  Miss  E.  K. 
Gordon,  Miss  Jennie  A. 
Gloyd,   Miss  Nellie 
Gorton,  Miss  Ada 
Gorton,  Miss  Maude  H. 
Gorton,  Miss  Mabel  H. 
Gannett,  Mrs.  W.  P.  Jr. 
Grant,  Miss  E.  H. 
Gray,  Miss  Lizzie 
Gunn,  Mrs.  H.  E. 
Gray,  Miss  Louise  L. 
Gooding,  Miss  E.  G. 
Gay,  Mrs.  Charles  E. 
Greene,  Miss  Florence  C. 
Griffith,  Miss  Sara 
Gardiner,  Miss  B.  M. 
Greene,  Miss  Helen 
Graves,  Miss  H.  L. 
Gorman,  Miss  Eliza  F. 
Gulliver,  Miss  B.  F. 
Gannon,  Miss  E.  M. 
Gray,  Mrs.   Linda 
Gyllenberg,  Miss  Irma 
Gyllenberg,   Miss   Edith 
Gardner,  Mrs.  E.  E. 
Gardner,  Mrs.   Clarence 
Gammell,  Mrs.  JR.  I. 
Gladding,  Miss  M.  Louise 
Grundy,    Miss   Winnifred 
Gilmore,  Mrs.  Mattie  E. 
Gallagher,  Miss  Mary 
Gelinas,  Mrs.  E.  B. 
Gladding,  Miss  Irene 
Gardner,  Mrs.   Clarence 
Ham,  Miss  Annette 
Hyde,  Miss  Lucy  G. 
Hunter,  Miss  Jennie  I. 
Hamilton,  Miss  Jennie  G. 
Hinckley,  Mrs.  H.  F. 
Harris,  Mrs.  C.  L. 
Heffernan,  Miss  Mabel  T. 


Hartwell,  Miss  Maud  M. 
Hayes,  Miss  Margaret  M. 
Huling,  Miss  C.   C. 
Hawkins,  Mrs.   P.   0. 
Huddy,  Mrs.  F.  I. 
Hunt,  Miss  L.  L. 
Hopkins,  Miss  Eva 
Hazard,  Miss  Alice  M. 
Houle,  Miss  Eva 
Houle,  Miss  Estelle 
Harden,  Mrs.  M.  B. 
Harden,  Miss  F.  B. 
Hazard,  Miss  M.  L. 
Hazard,  Miss  Nettie 
Hazard,  Miss   Margaret 
Horton,  Mrs.  L.  G. 
Hobart,   Mrs.    E.    S. 
Hall,  Miss  M.  F. 
Holder,  Mrs.  Rufus 
Horton,  Miss  Lila  I. 
Hanna,  Miss  Bessie 
Hall,  Miss  Bertha  A. 
Hanley,  Miss  Margaret 
Hazard,  Miss  Caroline 
Hazard.   Miss  Helen 
Hoswell,  Miss  Charlotte 
Hazard.  Mrs    Rowland   G. 
Hodgkiss,   Miss   Edwina 
Hart,  Mrs    D.  "H 
Hopkins,  Miss  J.  B. 
Hoefeld,  Miss  T. 
Higgins,  Mrs.  Wallace  E. 
Holman,  Miss  Gladys 
Jones,  Mrs.  Jennie  B. 
Johnston,  Mrs.  J.  B. 
Jordan.  Miss  F.  E. 
Jordan,  Miss  Blanche 
Jordan,  Miss  Florence  E. 
Jackson,  Miss  A.  O. 
Kitch,  Miss  Jessie  M. 
Keith,  Miss  Susie  M. 


EMORY  J.  RUSSELL 
Fifth   President  of  the  Arion  Club 


ARION  CLUB  MEMBERS 


101 


Kimball,  Miss  Helen  E. 
Kimball,  Mrs.   Laura  B. 
Kerr,  Miss  Bertha  H. 
King,  Mrs.  E.  M. 
Kitchen,  Miss  Maude 
Kenyon,  Miss  Harriet  N. 
Kenyon,  Miss  M.  Carrie 
Kindquist,   Miss    Hilda 
Kirk,  Miss  Fannie  L. 
Kearns,  Miss  Julia 
Keach,  Miss  A.  C. 
Kimball,  Miss  Ruth  O. 
Keirnan,  Mrs.  C.  C. 
Kimball,   Miss   Jessie 
Kingsley,  Miss  Nellie 
Knight,  Miss  Margaret  H. 
Kelley,  Mrs.  J.  S. 
Kirmayer,  Miss  Lillian 
Knight,  Mrs.   C.  Prescott 
Kannan,  Mrs.  M. 
King,  Mrs.  G.  W. 
Look,  Mrs.  L.  J. 
Livsey,  Miss  Ada  L. 
Lemaire,  Mrs.  Joseph 
Lackey,  Miss  H.  V. 
Lee,  Miss  Etta  R. 
Lyon,  Miss  Mabel  R. 
Lewis,  Miss  Marion  E.  F. 
Leonard,  Miss  Olive  D. 
Lockwood,  Mrs.  J.  A. 
Loeffler,   Miss   Alma   R. 
Livsey,  Miss  A.  L. 
Loh,  Miss  E.  J. 
Lovell,  Mrs.   G.   E. 
LaLonde,  Mrs.  Ida 
LeBoeuf,  Miss 
Le  Maire,  Miss  Crystal 
Martin,  Miss  Sadie  L. 
McLoughlin,  Miss  Mary 
Mowry,  Miss  Jeanette  L. 
Mathews,  Mrs.  G.  S. 


McArdle,  Miss  M.  A. 
McCabe,  Miss  Teresa 
Middlebrook,  Miss  F.  A. 
Maynard,  Miss  A.  G. 
Mason,  Miss  Alice  H. 
Metcalf,  Mrs.  I.  H. 
McCabe,  Miss  K. 
McCormack,  Miss  Mary  T. 
Murphy,  Miss  Elizabeth 
MacDougall,  Miss  A.  Belle 
Medbury,  Mrs.  Eugene 
Moroney,  Mrs.  A. 
Mason,  Mrs.  John  H. 
Manley,  Mrs.  Geo.  L. 
MacColl,  Mrs.  James  H. 
Martin,    Miss    Isabelle 
Moss,   Mrs.   J. 
Murray,  Mrs.  R.  Smith 
Murphy,  Miss  G. 
Maynard,  Miss  Eva 
Merrill,  Mrs.  Alice 
Miller,  Miss  Sally  H. 
Miller,  Miss  Harriet  J. 
Mathewson,  Miss  Ethel 
McKenna,  Miss  Agnes  R. 
Murphy,  Miss  Bessie 
McCabe,  Miss  B.  G. 
Mason,  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Manchester,  Mrs.  Walter  H. 
Manchester,  Miss  Mary  W. 
Munyan,  Mrs.  J.  A. 
Mahoney,  Miss  Annie 
Murphy,  Miss  M.  E. 
McPherson,   Miss   J.    C. 
Miller,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Jr. 
Marr,  Miss  Barbara 
Mowry,  Mrs.  B.  R. 
Moody,  Mrs.  W.  S. 
Meagher,  Miss  Nellie 
Meegan,  Miss  May  W. 
Miller,  Miss  S.  C. 


102 


THE  HAPPENINGS   OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 


Mahy,  Miss  Alice  L. 
Matteson,  Miss  L.  A. 
Mumford,  Miss  Alice  D. 
Manney,  Mrs.  G.  E. 
Monahan,    Miss    Mae 
Mowney,  Mrs.  A. 
Martin,  Mrs.  Fred 
Newman,  Miss  Sarah  B. 
Nichols,  Miss  Edith 
Nicholson,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Nichols,  Mrs.  C.  C. 
Nottage,  Mrs.  H.  P. 
Nichols,   Mrs.   W. 
North,  Miss  Nellie 
Newbury,  Miss  S.  Charlotte 
Newcomb,  Miss  Lydia 
Nichols,  Mrs.  G.  P. 
Nash,  Mrs.  F.  J. 
Ormond,  Miss  Lizzie 
O'Donnell,  Miss  Margaret  V. 
Orr,  Miss  E.  L. 
Oxx,  Miss  E.  T. 
O'Neill,  Miss  Minnie  A. 
O'Gorman,  Miss  Margaret 
Olsen,  Miss  Martha 
O'Brien,   Mrs. 
Plummer,   Mrs.   Jerome    . 
Patt,  Mrs.  W.   E. 
Pierce,  Mrs.  Lucy  M. 
Pearce,  Miss  Nellie  B. 
Page,  Mrs.  C.  H. 
Prosser,  Mrs.  J.  M. 
Potter,  Miss  E.  E. 
Pratt,   Miss  Mary  V. 
Peirce,  Miss  Louise  F. 
Pierce,  Miss  Etta  M. 
Preston,  Miss  Annie  L. 
Perry,  Miss  E.  M.  L. 
Perry,  Miss   E.   D. 
Peet,  Mrs.  F.  I. 
Perry,  Mrs.  George  E. 


Patterson,   Miss   Mary   E. 
Pratt,  Mrs.  C.  S. 
Peckham,  Mrs.  Bertha  L. 
Phillips,    Miss    Mary 
Prentiss,  Miss  M.  Alice 
Pierce,  Miss  Lucy  M. 
Pettey,   Miss   L. 
Pinkham,  Miss  May 
Perry,  Mrs.  George  S. 
Packard,  Miss  M.  W. 
Parker,   Miss  Harriet 
Patt,  Mrs.  E.  M. 
Pierce,  Miss  I.  M. 
Padelford,  Mrs.  A.  W. 
Prouty,  Miss  Sabina  P. 
Potter,  Mrs.   E.   B. 
Pearson,  Miss  May 
Parker,  Miss  Emily  F. 
Pratt,  Miss  Mary  L. 
Pryor,  Mrs.  John 
Peterson,  Miss  Yetta  C. 
Perkins,  Miss  May 
Perkins,  Miss  Lotta 
Paull,  Mrs-.   M.   T. 
Reed,   Miss   Elizabeth    I. 
Rawson,  Miss  Clara 
Rawson,  Mrs.  M.  E. 
Rounds,  Miss  Eldora  B. 
Ripley,  Miss  C.  E. 
Rider,  Miss  Nellie  A. 
Reed,  Miss  Susanna 
Read,  Mrs.  Harriet  E. 
Robinson,  Mrs.  Alice  M. 
Ralph,   Mrs.   Eliza  J. 
.Rice,  Mrs.  H.  H. 
Ray,  Mrs.  E.  M. 
Remington,  Mrs.  Annie  I. 
Rice,  Mrs.  R.  H. 
Reed,  Miss  M.  E. 
Rice,   Miss    Esther 
Reichardt,  Miss  C.  Lena 


ARION  CLUB  MEMBERS 


103 


Rhodes,  Miss  E.  H. 
Rubbert,  Miss  J.  H. 
Riley,  Miss  Minnie  A. 
Randall,  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Rounds,  Mrs.  L.  W. 
Rovelto,  Miss  Corrinne  M. 
Rovelto,  Miss  C.  L. 
Rawlings,  Mrs.   G.   S. 
Rockwood,  Miss  Nellie 
Richardson,  Mrs.  Clara  C. 
Rooney,  Miss  May 
Rogers,  Mrs.  Milford  D. 
Randall,  Mrs.  L.  R. 
Rounds,  Mrs.   A.   B. 
Riley,  Miss  M. 
Raia,  Miss  Adelina 
Robertson,  Mrs.  S.  K.  M. 
Robinson,  Miss  Olive 
Shove,    Miss    Allie 
Sharpe,  Miss  Ellen  D. 
Simmons,  Mrs.  J.   O. 
Sullivan,  Miss  Dora  C. 
Sherman,  Miss  H.  E. 
Smith,  Mrs.  Evelyn  B. 
Smith,  Miss  Jennie  E. 
Stone,  Miss  Hattie  B. 
Spencer,  Miss  Edith  R. 
Stone,  Mrs.   Clare  H. 
Sayer,  Miss   Margie 
Stockwell,  Mrs.  G.  A. 
Sanborn,  Miss  L.  W. 
Schubarth,  Miss  Lucy 
Schneider,    Miss    Florida 
Salisbury,  Mrs.  Isabella 
Shackford,    Miss    Mary 
Simester,   Miss  L.   L. 
Sexton,  Miss   Catherine 
Such,  Miss  Daisy  M. 
Stansbury,  Miss  Anna 
Stansbury,  Miss  Matilda 
Steere,  Miss   Lena  W. 


Smith,  Mrs.  H.  S. 
Smith,   Miss   Etta 
Saywell,  Miss  N.  B. 
Stanley,  Miss  Lena  M. 
Slocum,  Miss  A.   C. 
Standish,  Mrs. 
Sweet,   Miss   M.   Allen 
Slade,  Mrs.   W.   F. 
Scott,  Miss  S.  J. 
Stuart,  Miss  E.  A. 
Sherman,   Miss   Harriet 
Seton,   Miss   L.   A. 
Sumner,  Miss  A.  M. 
Sherman,  Miss  S.  L. 
Short,  Miss  Mabel  L. 
Steere,  Mrs.   Warren 
Smith,  Mrs.   G.   H. 
Sweet,  Mrs.  Ralph  A. 
Smith,  Miss  B.   H. 
Spring,   Miss  Hope 
Scott,  Miss  Mary  L. 
Steere,    Miss    Bertha 
Sanborn,  Mrs.  Sarah  A. 
Seal,  Miss  Beatrice  H. 
Sweet,  Mrs.  Lillian  G. 
Sprague,  Mrs.  N.  B. 
Sharpe,  Miss  Amy  D. 
Sharpe,  Miss  Louisa  D. 
Stone,  Mrs.  Clara  Hicks 
Smith,  Miss  Harriet 
Smith,  Miss  Ada 
Shippee,  Mrs.  Isaac 
Swift,  Mrs.  H. 
Stone,  Miss  H.  B. 
Spinney,  Miss  A.  F. 
Smith,  Mrs.  J.  Bell 
Scully,  Miss  Jessica  A. 
Smith,  Miss  Elsie 
Smith,  Miss  Isabella 
Slocum,  Miss  Grace  Woods 
Stanley,  Miss  Lena  C. 


104 


THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 


Thackray,   Mrs.   George 
Tracy,  Miss  Mattie  L. 
Tilley,  Miss  L.  L. 
Travers,   Mrs.   Marion   W. 
Taft,  Miss  Nellie 
Tilley,  Mrs.  Charles  E. 
Thayer,  Miss  Gertrude  L. 
Tower,  Mrs.  M.  H. 
Tillinghast,  Mrs.  G.  M. 
Tappan,  Miss  P.  A. 
Thurlow,  Miss  Jennie  M. 
Tobey,  Miss  M.  E. 
Turner,  Miss  Grace  A. 
Thornton,  Mrs.  H.  E. 
Talbot,  Mrs.  Frederic 
Taylor,  Miss  Estella 
Vose,  Mrs.  A.  G.  E. 
Van  Slyke,  Miss  A.  M. 
Valleley,  Miss  J.  V. 
Van  Benschoten,  Miss  H. 
Vincenti,  Miss  Ida 
Williams,  Mrs.   G.  D. 
Wilcox,  Mrs.  W.  D. 
Williams,  Miss  Nellie  A. 
Wayland,  Miss  A.  H. 
Woodward,   Mrs.    Robert 
Worth,  Miss  Nellie 
Waterhouse,  Miss  L.  M.    ' 
Winterbottom,  Miss  C.  E. 
Wilbur,  Miss  Carrie  M. 
Whitman,  Mrs.  R.  H. 
Wilson,  Miss  Mabel   R. 
Whiting,  Miss  Florence  C. 
Walpole,  Mrs.  N.  C. 


Waterhouse,  Mrs.  E.  G. 
Watts,  Miss  Ethel  M. 
Walsh,  Miss  Mary  G. 
Wetherell,  Miss  Gertrude  L. 
Williams,  Miss  Harriet  E. 
Whipple,  Miss  A. 
Williams,  Miss  M.   L. 
Wakham,  Miss  M. 
Williams,  Mrs.   L.   P. 
Williams,  Miss  N.  A. 
Wheelwright,   Miss   H. 
Wade,  Mrs.  Frank  E. 
Ward,  Miss  Alice  L. 
Waters,  Miss  Alice 
Wales,  Miss  E.   G. 
Weed,   Miss   Helen 
Weeks,  Mrs.  W.  B. 
White,  Mrs.  F.  H. 
White,  Miss  Rhoda  C. 
Wales,  Miss  Bertha 
Wilbur,  Miss  Amey  C. 
Whitehead,  Miss  Clara 
Walker,  Miss  Mildred 
Wright,  M,rs.   Percy 
Wilcox,  Mrs.  Evelyn 
Wolff,  Miss  Ethel 
Weldon,  Miss  Evelyn 
Woodward,  Miss  L.  D. 
Wiesner,  Miss  C. 
Young,  Miss  M.  E. 
Young,  Mrs.  R.  A. 
Young,  Miss  Florence  E. 
Ziesenitz,   Miss   Augusta 


ARION   CLUB  MEMBERS  105 

Filial  affection  was  never  more  beautifully  ex- 
emplified than  by  the  custom  of  two  sons  of  a 
deceased  member  of  the  Arion  Club  who  for  several 
years  have  sent  a  memorial  of  flowers  at  all  the 
rehearsals  of  the  club  and  now  that  the  rehearsals 
and  concerts  have  been  discontinued  the  flowers  are 
still  sent  to  my  house,  every  Monday  evening,  which 
was  always  the  club's  rehearsal  night.  I  receive 
them  in  the  name  of  the  club  and  I  always  feel  that 
I  would  like  to  lay  them  alongside  the  noble  list 
of  singers  whose  names  adorn  these  pages,  for  I 
know  that  such  a  disposition  of  them  would  satisfy 
the  donors  as  no  other  would  do  as  well. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


FOR  THE  MOST  PART  the  many  rehearsals  of 
the  Arion  Club  during  its  forty  years  of  concert 
giving  have  been  a  source  of  keen  enjoyment,  even 
though  occasionally  matters  arose  that  necessitated 
a  strict  enforcement  of  the  leader's  rights.  It  used  to 
be  for  me  a  wearing  experience  when  I  felt,  as  was 
often  the  case  if  a  new  and  difficult  work  was  taken 
up  for  study,  that  some  of  the  chorus  did  not  like  or 
appreciate  it,  as  I  knew  they  all  would  when  the 
piece  was  learned.  Sometimes  they  were  thought- 
less enough  to  venture  an  opinion  that  would  of 
course  reach  my  ear,  when  my  patience  would  be 
sorely  tried  and  I  often  felt  like  taking  the  work 
away  from  them.  Usually,  I  would  give  my  opinion 
of  their  shortsightedness  when  their  enthusiasm  was 
at  its  height  just  before  a  concert,  for  I  thought  that 
was  the  time  to  bring  home  to  them  the  idea  that 
more  patience  would  have  made  it  easier  for  every- 
body and  been  much  more  to  the  credit  of  their 
musical  judgment.  But  these  occasions  were  on  the 
whole  rare  and  the  rehearsals  for  the  most  part  were 
happy  and  sociable,  with  now  and  then  a  ludicrously 
funny  incident. 

For  instance,  the  following  joke  I  played  on  my- 
self was  much  appreciated,  I  know.  A  pupil  of  mine, 

106 


ARION  REHEARSALS  107 

Dr.  C.  B.  Davis,  an  excellent  tenor,  became  very 
early  almost  completely  bald.  However  he  procured 
a  toupe  that  he  wore  with  a  jaunty  air.  My  own 
hair  had  begun  to  fall,  a  fact  that  he  was  quick  to 
observe  and  just  as  ready  to  advise  me  about.  "Get 
a  toupe  like  mine,"  he  would  say  time  and  time 
again,  and  I  finally  was  persuaded.  I  too  wore  mine 
with  a  jaunty  air  and  the  first  time  that  I  displayed 
it  at  a  rehearsal  there  was  such  a  look  of  bewilder- 
ment from  many  in  the  chorus  that  I  was  greatly 
amused.  Finally  one  of  the  basses,  E.  S.  Clark, 
always  ready  for  a  joke,  had,  to  judge  from  the  look 
on  his  face,  solved  the  mystery  and  communicated 
his  conclusions  to  some  of  his  friends  who  thereupon 
exchanged  amused  glances.  I  thought  it  was  about 
time  to  have  the  chorus  settle  down  to  work,  as  I  felt 
they  would  not  with  such  a  momentous  question  in 
their  minds,  so,  after  several  repetitions  of  a  passage 
I  pretended  to  be  well  nigh  out  of  patience,  exclaim- 
ing :  "We'll  try  that  just  once  more  and  do  be  care- 
ful or  I  shall  feel  like  tearing  my  hair!"  Immedi- 
ately the  matter  was  understood,  as  the  hilarity  that 
followed  proved,  and  the  rehearsal  went  on  from 
that  point  with  everyone  in  high  spirits. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  me  that  the  places  of 
the  Arion  Club's  rehearsals  and  concerts  be  re- 
corded. They  were  as  follows:  Rehearsals,  first  at 
Grace  Church  Chapel,  then  at  the  Keith's  Theatre 
Rehearsal  Halls,  at  Blackstone  Hall  on  Washington 
Street,  the  old  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Hall  at  Westminster  and 
Jackson  Streets,  and  the  lower  auditorium  of  the 
Mathewson  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
where  we  were  rehearsing  when  the  Great  War 
came  upon  us  all.  We  then  voted  to  suspend  rehear- 


108         THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

sals  and  concerts  till  the  war  was  over.  But  so  many 
came  to  me  begging  me  to  continue  at  least  the 
rehearsals  that  I  told  them  if  they  cared  to  meet  in 
my  large  studio  in  Butler  Exchange  we  could  still 
hold  together. 

This  they  did  until  the  studio  proved  too  small  to 
accommodate  them  all,  when  by  the  kindness  of  the 
Republican  Club  of  Providence  we  were  allowed  the 
use  of  its  fine  rooms  in  Butler  Exchange  for  two 
years,  when  by  the  courtesy  of  the  Police  Commis- 
sioners of  Providence  and  with  the  consent  of  Mayor 
Joseph  H.  Gainer  and  Judges  Raymond  and  Reming- 
ton, we  were  given  the  use  of  the  handsome  munici- 
pal court  room  on  Fountain  Street,  where  we  were 
the  recipients  of  much  friendliness.  It  was  for  a  long 
time  a  joke,  however,  that  the  Arion  Club  had  at 
last  been  brought  to  court. 

Our  first  concert  was  given  in  the  old  Amateur 
Dramatic  Hall  on  South  Main  Street.  Then  we  staged 
one  on  two  in  the  old  Music  Hall  pn  Westminster 
Street,  after  which  all  our  concerts  excepting  a  few 
arranged  during  the  war  for  patriotic  benefits  were 
given  in  Infantry  Hall.  We  gave  several  concerts  on 
Sunday  evenings  in  the  Strand  Theatre  and  one  in 
Fay's  Theatre,  and  once  a  week-day  concert  in 
Memorial  Hall  on  Benefit  Street. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
A  FAMOUS  SINGING  TEACHER 

THERE  ARE  THOSE  who  consider  that  Giovanni 
Sbriglia,  who  taught  singing  for  many  years 
in  Paris,  was  one  of  the  great  authorities  on  voice 
placement  and  development,  and  there  are  others 
who  deny  him  this  distinction.  I  knew  and  studied 
with  Sbriglia  faithfully  and  to  much  profit.  He  had 
to  his  credit  a  long  list  of  distinguished  pupils, 
among  them  the  famous  Jean  DeReske,  who  had 
sung  in  opera  for  several  years  as  a  baritone  and 
afterward,  acting  on  the  advice  given  him  by  Sbrig- 
lia, became  a  world-renowned  tenor. 

Sbriglia  was  but  an  indifferent  musician,  however, 
and  he  owed  his  fame  chiefly  to  his  one  specialty 
(voice  placing).  He  was  of  medium  stature  but 
quite  upstanding  and  alert,  with  a  keen  eye,  a 
keener  ear  and  an  insistence  and  patience  untiring. 
I  was  with  him  for  a  lesson  every  day  during  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1886.  He  was  much  inter- 
ested in  and  for  me  and  I  accompanied  him  some- 
times on  Sundays  on  his  trips  to  the  country.  On 
one  of  these  occasions  I  took  the  opportunity  to  ask 
him  from  whom  he  derived  his  ideas  of  voice  devel- 
opment. 

He  told  me  that  when  a  young  man  he  was  singing 
in  the  opera  in  Italy,  at  the  time  the  famous  Rubini 

109 


110          THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

was  just  about  closing  his  wonderful  career,  and 
that  Rubini,  noticing  that  he  (Sbriglia)  was  having 
much  trouble  with  his  voice,  advised  him  about  it, 
giving  him  private  instruction  and  saving  his  voice. 
If  this  was  true,  as  I  have  no  doubt  it  was,  he  came 
honestly  by  his  training  and  knowledge,  acquiring 
them  from  the  very  highest  authority,  if  we  can  be- 
lieve tradition. 

In  my  companionship  with  Sbriglia  he  told  me  of 
an  American  singer  long  resident  in  France  with 
whom  he  had  formerly  sung  in  opera.  This  singer 
was  Henry  Squire,  who  at  the  time  I  was  studying, 
lived  in  Etretat,  the  summer  rendezvous  of  many  a 
distinguished  artist.  Sbriglia  had  told  Mr.  Squire  of 
me  and  he  had  expressed  a  desire  to  meet  me,  invit- 
ing me,  through  Sbriglia,  to  visit  him  at  Etretat. 
When  Sbriglia  told  me  this  I  remembered  the  name, 
because  when  I  first  began  to  sing  in. Grace  Church 
in  Providence,  we  often  sang  a  quartette  written  by 
George  William  Warren  of  New  York,  so  long  the 
organist  at  St.  Thomas's  Church.  This  quartette  was 
dedicated  to  this  same  singer,  Henry  Squire,  who 
it  seems  was  the  tenor  of  a  church  choir  in  Albany, 
New  York,  where  Mr.  Warren  was  stationed  at  the 
time  he  wrote  the  quartette,  "Come,  Holy  Spirit." 
It  was  a  favorite  piece  with  me,  as  it  began  with  a 
graceful  and  melodious  tenor  solo,  and  I  used  to 
think  that  I  would  have  liked  to  hear  Mr.  Squire 
sing  it.  Therefore  it  was  wonderful  to  me  that,  after 
so  many  years,  I  should  meet  him  in  France.  I  ac- 
cepted the  invitation,  going  to  Etretat  by  diligence 
from  Havre,  and  having  a  most  enjoyable  experi- 
ence of  a  long  journey  through  the  open  country. 


A  FAMOUS  TEACHER  111 

I  found  the  Squires  pleasantly  domiciled  and  was 
cordially  welcomed  and  entertained.  He  was  im- 
mensely pleased  at  what  I  told  him  about  the  War- 
ren quartette,  as  was  Mrs.  Squire.  She,  too,  had 
been  an  opera  singer  and  I  remember  that  she  was 
not  at  all  reconciled  to  the  thought  that  they  had 
grown  old,  but  he  was  more  philosophical  and  cheer- 
fully showed  me  many  points  of  great  interest  to 
me,  taking  me  one  day  to  a  famous  French  inn, 
a  place  almost,  one  may  say,  kept  sacred  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  great  artists  who  in  the  sum- 
mer season  throng  the  seashore  at  Etretat. 

On  the  way  to  the  inn  he  pointed  out  to  me  the 
little  villa  of  the  prima  donna  who  created  the  part 
of  Alice  in  Meyerbeer's  "Roberto  il  Diavolo."  We  had 
a  glorious  dinner  at  the  inn  and  when  Squire  intro- 
duced me  to  the  proprietor,  telling  him  that  I  had 
created  the  part  of  "Faust"  in  that  great  French- 
man Berlioz's  "La  Damnation  de  Faust,"  the  inn- 
keeper brought  forth  an  immense  book  in  which 
were  the  autographs  of  French  celebrities,  singers, 
painters,  etc.,  and  insisted  that  I  write  my  name  in 
it.  I  demurred,  disclaiming  any  right  to  be  included 
in  such  company,  but  in  vain.  So  there  my  name  may 
still  be  seen,  I  presume,  a  source  of  wonderment 
possibly  as  to  why  an  American  should  be  found 
among  the  French  immortals. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

"RIP  VAN  WINKLE" 

AFTER  HAVING  WRITTEN  many  songs,  an- 
thems and  several  short  cantatas,  I  had  a 
desire  to  write  something  on  a  larger  scale  and  tried 
at  various  times  to  find  some  one  who  would  furnish 
me  with  a  libretto  for  an  opera,  finally  concluding 
that  I  should  have  to  furnish  one  for  myself.  I 
wanted  an  American  subject,  naturally,  and  Wash- 
ington Irving's  poetic  legend  of  Rip  Van  Winkle 
appealed  to  me  so  strongly  that  I  forthwith  began  to 
plan  scenes  for  it  and  to  write  the  music. 

I  was  occupied  with  this  during  my  spare  time  for 
a  year  or  so  and  finally  completed  i't.  I  wrote  it  in 
piano  score  at  first,  but  with  the  orchestral  effects 
so  strongly  in  mind  that  when  I  began  to  score  it 
for  orchestra,  as  I  did  at  once  during  a  summer's 
vacation,  I  found  it  an  easy  matter  and  at  the  close 
of  my  vacation  that  too  was  finished,  600  and  more 
pages  of  orchestral  score!  I  then  began  negotiations 
with  the  manager  of  the  Bostonians  for  a  production 
by  that  popular  company.  These  plans  were  suc- 
cessful and  I  commenced  to  rehearse  a  select  chorus 
in  Providence,  which  was  to  combine  with  that  of 
the  Bostonians,  together  with  all  their  principals, 
for  a  production  (a  week's  engagement)  at  the 
Providence  Opera  House. 

112 


"RIP  VAN  WINKLE"  113 

There  was  naturally,  I  may  say,  a  great  interest 
in  this  production,  which  resulted  in  receipts 
amounting  to  more  than  $4000  for  the  six  perform- 
ances— in  those  days  considered  remarkable  busi- 
ness. By  the  terms  of  the  contract,  the  Bostonians 
had  an  option  on  the  opera  from  the  time  of  the 
first  performances,  which  were  in  May,  1897,  to  the 
following  November.  The  performances  were  in  the 
main  excellent  and  the  success  of  the  opera  with 
the  public  was  tremendous.  Alice  Nielsen  as  Minna, 
Rip's  daughter,  was  ideal  and  charming.  Jessie 
Bartlett  Davis,  in  the  double  role  of  Katrina,  Rip's 
wife,  and  Morgana,  the  fairy  queen,  was  excellent 
beyond  compare.  Mr.  McDonald  did  well  with  the 
part  of  Hendrick  Hudson,  William  Philp  as  Granier 
was  an  acceptable  tenor  and  the  minor  parts,  led  by 
lola  Dodge  as  little  Gretchen  and  George  W.  Dover 
as  Vedder,  were  all  capitally  taken  by  local  per- 
formers. 

But — Mr.  Barnabee,  fine  as  he  was  in  many  other 
parts,  was  totally  inadequate  to  that  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle.  After  the  first  act  at  the  first  performance, 
I  ventured  to  expostulate  with  him  about  his  appear- 
ance, his  acting  and  his  singing.  He  did  not  look 
the  part  nor  did  he  act  it,  and  his  voice  proved  to 
be  unequal  to  the  music.  He  realized  his  short- 
comings, for  he  said  to  me:  "Jordan,  I'd  give  ten 
years  of  my  life  if  I  could  play  that  part  as  it  ought 
to  be  played."  He  was  of  course  taken  back  by 
what  I  felt  obliged  to  say  to  him,  and  Eugene 
Cowles,  who  had  understudied  the  part,  played  the 
second  and  two  subsequent  performances.  He  was 
very  successful  and  immediately  began  to  plan,  as 
I  suppose,  to  star  in  the  opera  for,  before  the  week 


114         THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

was  out,  a  relative  of  his,  resident  in  Providence, 
in  an  interview  with  me  said:  "We  want  to  buy  it 
for  Eugene,"  and  I  saw  at  the  time  many  litho- 
graphs of  Mr.  Cowles  in  the  part.  But — the  Bos- 
tonians  held  to  their  option,  although  I  begged  them 
to  give  it  up.  "For,"  said  I,  to  both  Barnabee  and 
McDonald,  "you  realize  that  it  is  unsuited  to  you 
and  you  cannot  intend  to  play  it  in  your  repertoire." 
I  followed  them  up  almost  weekly,  begging  for  a 
release,  but  was  put  off  and  off  till  finally  as  Novem- 
ber first  drew  near  I  began  to  hope  I  should  have 
the  opera  in  my  sole  right  once  more  but  at  the 
very  last  hour  of  the  last  day  they  wired  me  from 
Washington  that  they  should  exercise  their  option 
and  play  it  in  San  Francisco! 

I  felt  then  that  the  work  was  doomed  for,  by  that 
time,  they  knew  what  was  in  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Cowles  respecting  it  and  as  he  was  one  of  their  best 
drawing  cards  they  did  not  want  to  lose  him.  The 
San  Francisco  performance  fell  flat%  as  I  presume 
was  their  intention,  and  as  I  had  foreseen.  What 
they  did  to  bring  this  about  I  can  only  surmise,  but 
these  are  the  facts  in.  the  case  and  I  speak  of  them 
at  this  late  day  only  to  explain  to  my  friends  the 
"why,"  as  even  now  I  often  hear:  "Are  we  never  to 
have  Rip  again?" 

A  few  years  after  I  put  it  on  once  more  at  the 
Providence  Opera  House  with  that  sterling  actor, 
William  Wolff,  then  of  the  Castle  Square  Theatre, 
Boston.  Mr.  Wolff  proved  to  be  my  ideal  in  the 
part  of  Rip,  investing  it  with  every  attribute  neces- 
sary to  a  complete  realization  of  its  possibilities, 
and  even  with  the  other  parts  less  satisfactorily 
filled,  we  gave  some  excellent  performances. 


"RIP  VAN  WINKLE"  115 

One  incident  that  may  go  to  prove  the  universal 
interest  that  prevailed  at  the  time  of  the  Bostonians' 
production  may  be  here  recorded.  A  gentleman  of 
my  acquaintance,  a  member  of  Grace  Church,  was 
so  incensed  at  my  resignation  from  the  position  I 
had  held  so  long  in  the  choir  there,  that  he  seemed 
never  ready  to  forgive  me  and  used  to  say  to  another 
friend  of  mine  that  I  was  not  missed  and  that  the 
choir  went  on  as  well  as  ever.  Why  not?  I  had 
left  the  choir  just  as  I  had  trained  it  and  with  the 
same  organist  that  had  at  first  sung  under  me  and 
then  succeeded  Mr.  Stanley,  who  had  resigned  a 
few  months  before  I  did.  However,  after  the  first 
"Rip"  performances,  my  friend  met  this  unreason- 
able person  on  the  street,  when  he  was  hailed  with: 
"Have  you  heard  Jordan's  opera?"  "Of  course. 
Have  you?"  "Yes,  oh  yes.  My  wife  and  I  went  the 
first  night  so  as  to  be  present  at  a  fizzle,  but  it  was 
beautiful  and  we  have  been  four  times  to  hear  it!" 

A  year  or  two  after  these  first  performances,  I 
received  a  letter  from  Mr.  D.  R.  Gebhardt,  then  of 
Kirksville,  Mo.,  saying  that  a  copy  of  "Rip"  had 
fallen  under  his  observation  and  that  as  he  had  been 
producing  operas  in  his  school  there  for  several 
years  he  wished  to  inquire  the  terms  for  a  pro- 
duction of  my  work.  I  furnished  him  the  informa- 
tion he  required,  but  heard  no  more  from  him  for 
three  or  four  years,  when  he  wrote  again  that  he 
had  had  the  opera  by  him  all  the  time  and  that  it 
had  grown  with  him  and  he  felt  he  must  give  it  a 
production.  I  tried  in  many  ways  to  discourage  him, 
for  I  knew  it  was  too  difficult  for  young  amateurs 
such  as  I  supposed  his  school  to  be  comprised  of, 


116         THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

but  he  insisted  and  paid  my  fee  in  advance,  so  I 
had  nothing  to  do  but  send  him  the  material. 

This  was  in  the  early  autumn.  I  heard  nothing 
from  him  all  that  season  till  the  next  February, 
when  he  wrote  me  that  their  production  had  created 
great  satisfaction;  more  so  than  any  opera  they  had 
given  in  years  and  he  enumerated  a  list  of  many  of 
the  most  popular  that  he  had  produced  there.  He 
expressed  wonderment  repeatedly  that  I  did  not 
push  it,  not  realizing,  perhaps,  that  to  press  a  work 
of  that  kind  one  should  be  more  in  the  centre  of 
things  musical  than  I  was  in  Providence.  But  the 
work  is  now  in  the  hands  of  an  expert  in  such  mat- 
ters in  New  York  and  I  still  have  hope  of  an  ade- 
quate metropolitan  performance  some  day.  I  may 
add  that  another  recently  completed  opera,  "Nisida," 
in  three  acts,  is  ready  for  production. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
GOLDEN  MOMENTS 

I  CAN  NEVER  FORGET  the  exquisite  pleasure 
that  I  experienced  at  the  time  I  first  heard 
Christine  Nilsson  sing,  during  her  first  American 
tour  in  the  year  1870  or  thereabout.  I  had  just  set- 
tled in  Providence  and  this  was  my  first  concert. 
It  was  given  in  Harrington's  Opera  House,  which 
was  on  the  site  of  the  present  City  Hall.  She  had 
associated  with  her  a  fine  company,  of  which  Annie 
Louise  Gary  was  a  prominent  member.  The  prog- 
ramme had  proceeded  successfully  as  far  as  to  the 
point  when  Nilsson  would  appear.  She  had  been 
heralded  as  a  phenomenon  and  expectation  was  rife. 
Finally  she  came  on  the  stage,  was  cordially  greeted 
and  after  the  applause  had  subsided  began  to  sing, 
"Angels  ever  bright  and  fair."  She  commenced  the 
air  at  once,  without  the  introductory  Recitative. 

It  was  to  me  something  divine.   Her  voice  had  an 
indescribably  lovely  quality  and  when  she  began, 

with   "An gels" — prolonging   the   first   syllable 

with  a  beautiful  crescendo,  and  diminishing  for  the 
last  syllable,  there  was  a  sigh  of  delight  on  every 
side.  The  aria  proceeded  with  ever  increasing  beauty 
to  its  close,  when  for  a  half  minute  there  was  com- 
plete silence  as  she  waited  for  the  afterlude  to  finish 
and  then  came  such  a  burst  of  applause  as  I  venture 

117 


118          THE   HAPPENINGS   OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

to  say  had  never  before  been  heard  in  Harrington's 
Opera  House.  Miss  Gary  too  had  an  almost  equal 
success,  but  the  one  thing  that  I  remember  best  is 
Nilsson's  singing  of  this  gem.  I  have  heard  it  and 
taught  it  many  times  since,  and  I  never  see  the  piece 
or  think  of  it  without  the  picture  of  this  great  singer, 
as  she  was  then,  coming  to  my  mind.  I  heard  her 
several  years  later  at  Her  Majesty's  Theatre  in  Lon- 
don in  Boito's  "Mefistofele"  but  I  did  not  enjoy  her 
singing  then,  for  her  voice  had  lost  the  wonderful 
quality  it  had  when  I  first  heard  her,  because  she 
had  forced  her  chest  tones  beyond  the  natural  limit 
of  that  register. 

Another  such  moment  was  vouchsafed  me  one 
night  in  the  Boston  Theatre  when  Clara  Louise  Kel- 
logg appeared  in  Ambroise  Thomas's  "Mignon." 
Miss  Kellogg  on  this  occasion  sang  the  part  of  Filina. 
She  had  had  a  great  success  all  the  evening,  and  had 
dressed  for  the  street,  but  was  waiting  in  one  of  the 
wings,  where  she  had  to  sing  a  strain  of  the  "Polo- 
naise" while  Mignon,  on  the  stage,  listens;  the  voice 
of  Filina,  her  rival,  driving  her  distracted. 

I  happened  to  be 'standing  by  the  side  of  Kellogg 
as  she  began  to  sing.  Her  wonderfully  brilliant  voice 
was  never  in  better  condition  as  she  started  the 
chromatic  trill  with  which  the  "Polonaise"  closes. 
I  was  both  amazed  and  electrified  when  after  a  long 
trill  on  the  high  A  she  took  the  sustained  B  flat 
above  and  I  could  hear  the  immense  crystal  chande- 
lier suspended  from  the  dome  of  the  theatre  ring 
back  the  tone  as  an  echo  while  the  house  literally 
sprang  to  its  feet  and  I  felt  that  I  had  heard  and 
witnessed  something  that  would  never  be  repeated 
for  me. 


GOLDEN  MOMENTS  119 

When  in  London  during  the  opera  season  I  always 
felt  it  a  duty  to  myself  to  hear  as  many  operas  and 
great  singers  as  possible  and  I  remember  going 
once  to  Covent  Garden  Theatre  for  a  performance 
of  Meyerbeer's  "Les  Huguenots."  I  had  heard  so 
many  operas  that  I  had  become  almost  tired  of  them. 
I  have  found  that  too  much  fine  music  is  like  too 
many  fine  dinners — not  good  for  the  musical  diges- 
tion; but  I  did  enjoy  this  opera  and  the  singers, 
among  whom  was  the  great  Spanish  tenor,  Gayarre. 
When  it  came  time  for  the  grand  duo  between  Val- 
entine and  Raoul  and  I  heard  him  take  the  high  C 
flat  at  the  words  "Dammi  pur  ancor"  I  was  delighted 
with  the  sureness  of  his  attack  and  the  purity  of 
tone  which  he  sustained  and  developed  to  such  con- 
summate beauty  that  the  whole  immense  audience 
rose,  while  "Bravo!  bravo!"  rang  out  from  all  parts 
of  the  house.  This  was  in  truth  a  golden  moment 
for  me  that  lingers  in  my  memory. 

Then  too,  if  I  may  speak  of  my  own  modest  per- 
formances at  this  point,  I  remember  how  much  I 
used  to  enjoy  singing  songs  like  Rubinstein's  "Just  as 
a  Lark  Trills"  and  his  "Golden  Rolls  Beneath  Me," 
Schumann's  "Frulingsnacht,"  Schubert's  many  beau- 
tiful songs,  Denza's  "Star  of  my  Heart"  (which  was 
dedicated  to  me)  and  others  with  which  I  achieved 
especial  success.  The  happiness  I  then  experienced 
is  beyond  the  power  of  words  to  express. 

The  introduction  of  Berlioz's  "La  Damnation  de 
Faust"  was  always  grateful  to  my  musical  sense 
and  to  my  voice,  as  was  also  the  obligate  solo  in  the 
Easter  hymn,  "What  Music."  Indeed  the  latter  used 
to  transport  me,  and  it  was  the  inspiration  and  dra- 
matic possibilities  inherent  in  this  great  work  that 


120         THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

furnished  me  with  a  buoyancy  that  made  it  possible 
for  me  to  surmount  its  difficulties. 

In  this  connection  the  following  incident  may  be 
found  worth  recording.  At  the  time  of  the  New  York 
performance  of  "  La  Damnation  de  Faust,"  a  recep- 
tion was  held  in  the  Steinway  Hall  building,  for  the 
conductor,  Dr.  Damrosch,  and  the  artists.  Among 
the  many  musical  people  whom  we  met  there  was 
Otto  Floersheim,  who  had  just  founded  the  Musical 
Courier.  He  was  a  stout  florid  German  and  I  remem- 
ber that  during  the  evening  in  conversation  with 
me  he  said:  "I  like  your  singing,  some  of  it  very 
much  and  some  of  it  not  at  all ;  but  the  way  in  which 
you  manage  that  high  B  natural  in  the  duo  is  as  fine 
as  can  be.  Why,  Campanini  himself  could  not  do 
it  better!"  This  surprised  me,  for  although  I  never 
failed  to  produce  the  tone,  still  I  always  felt  that 
it  was  a  sort  of  makeshift,  an  opinion  however  that 
seemed  to  be  mine  alone. 

Yet  the  crowning  moments  of  my  musical  life 
were  those  when  having  prepared  thoroughly  for 
a  performance  of,  say,  "Elijah,"  "The  Messiah,"  or 
"The  Creation,"  with  chorus  orchestra  and  organ, 
the  combination  of  all  these  at  the  culminating 
points  in  the  performance  would  thrill  my  whole 
being.  These  works  I  have  conducted  many  times 
and  sometimes  I  have  thought  that  the  cold  analysis 
of  rehearsals  would  finally  exhaust,  for  me,  the 
thrilling  power  of  some  of  the  choruses.  Yet  when 
it  came  to  the  performance  of  "The  Heavens  are 
Telling"  or  the  "Hallelujah  Chorus,"  or  to  the  mighty 
burst  of  sound  after  the  wonderful  crescendo  at  the 
close  of  the  overture  to  "Elijah,"  leading  directly 
to  "Help,  Lord,"  three  times  repeated,  "wilt  Thou 


GOLDEN  MOMENTS  121 

quite  destroy  us?"  I  have  invariably  felt  my  pulses 
quicken  with  a  joy  unknown,  I  really  believe,  to  all 
excepting  those  similarly  privileged  to  minister  at 
the  altar  of  music  on  such  occasions. 

Like  gold  impervious  to  decay, 
Such  mem'ries  ne'er  will  fade  away. 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES  I  HAVE  MET 

AS  I  glance  over  the  preceding  chapters  I  find 
that  I  have  failed  to  mention  in  any  one  of  them 
the  name  of  Giuseppe  Campanari.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  congenial  of  my  friends,  a  fine  artist  with 
a  voice  that  will  not  soon  be  forgotten,  his  long  con- 
tinued successes  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  in  New 
York  all  going  to  attest  this  opinion.  He  paid  me  a 
week's  visit  one  summer  at  my  farm  in  Willimantic, 
where  without  ceremony  we  enjoyed  ourselves.  He 
told  me  what  a  struggle  he  had  to  get  a  start  as  a 
singer,  saying  that  when  he  first  tried  at  some  con- 
cert in  Boston  soon  after  he  arrived  in  the  country 
his  mode  of  dress  was  so  strange  and  his  manner 
so  unusual  that  some  in  the  audience  laughed  at 
him  even  before  he  had  begun  to  sing.  This  dis- 
concerted him  and  his  success  was  not  great.  He 
would  not  try  again  for  months,  but  meanwhile  he 
applied  for  membership  in  the  Boston  Symphony 
Orchestra,  as  he  could  play,  as  he  told  me,  the 
violoncello  "a  very  leetle,"  so  little  that  he  was 
surprised  when  he  was  accepted.  After  a  while  some 
one  discovered  that  he  could  sing  well  and  pre- 
vailed upon  him  to  appear  at  one  of  the  "pops."  Here 
he  made  so  substantial  a  success  that  he  began  to 
be  in  demand  for  concerts.  Hearing  of  him  and 

122 


SIGNOR  GIUSEPPE  CAMPANARI 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES  I  HAVE  MET  123 

wanting  a  baritone  for  Barnby's  "King  All  Glori- 
ous," which  we  gave  in  a  programme  of  famous 
anthems,  I  sent  word  to  his  manager  in  Boston  to 
engage  him  and  to  send  him  a  copy  of  the  work. 

Campanari  was  on  hand  for  the  rehearsal.  At 
that  time  he  could  speak  only  a  few  words  in  Eng- 
lish. We  began  the  anthem.  When  it  came  to  the 
baritone  solo  I  looked  at  Campanari,  who  returned 
my  signal  with  a  glance  that  plainly  said,  "What 
do  you  want?"  His  manager  had  sent  him  another 
anthem  of  Barnby's,  "The  Lord  is  King,"  which 
Campanari  handed  up  to  me.  Poor  fellow!  This  was 
his  first  concert  outside  Boston  and  what  was  he  to 
do?  I  gave  him  a  copy  of  the  right  anthem  and 
he  appeared  in  the  evening  letter  perfect. 

I  had  some  excellent  horses  at  the  farm,  one  of 
these,  Ben,  a  handsome  colt,  gentle  as  a  Newfound- 
land dog  but  full  of  life,  was  greatly  admired  by 
Campanari.  One  morning  Ben  was  hitched  up  and 
we  were  to  take  a  ride  over  to  Willimantic.  Ben 
was,  as  usual,  gay  and,  as  we  rode  along,  he  saw, 
even  before  I  did,  some  white  paper,  pieces  of  a 
letter  that  had  been  torn  up  and  scattered  in  the 
road.  Ben  began  to  dance. 

"I  say,  Jordan,"  exclaimed  Campanari,  "Le*  me 
get  out."  Another  nudge.  "Le'  me  get  out."  "Sit  still, 
sit  still,  he's  only  playing."  By  that  time  we  had 
reached  the  paper,  which  Ben  danced  over.  Campa- 
nari was  quiet  for  a  moment  or  so,  then,  "I  say,  Jor- 
dan, I  like  a  horse  like  that — I  like  heem  very  much; 
some  day  I  buy  a  horse,  at  same  time  I  buy  a  revolv- 
er, I  go  ride,  I  place  revolver  so — beside  me.  The 
horse  he  begin  dance,  I  take  the  revolver  so — bing!" 

Among  the  friends  who  visited  me  at  the  farm 


124         THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

were  many  good  singers.  My  mother,  who  was  very 
deaf,  would  often  have  a  wistful  look  when  she  knew 
that  they  were  singing,  but  she  could  hear  little  of  it. 
One  day  during  Campanari's  visit  she  said  to  me, 
"Julius,  that  man's  voice  must  be  different,  for  I  can 
hear  him  much  better  than  the  others."  This  I  told 
to  Campanari.  He  was  delighted.  "I  sing  for  her," 
he  said.  "I  sing  all  she  like!"  Mother  was  brought 
and  seated  near  the  piano.  Campanari  sat  close  to 
her,  I  played  and  Campanari  sang  as  I  never  heard 
him  before,  while  Mother  sat  with  the  tears  rolling 
down  her  cheeks.  Dear  fellow,  he  never  forgot  the 
circumstance,  I  think,  for  whenever  I  saw  him  he 
would  speak  of  it. 

At  one  time  when  we  gave  "The  Damnation  of 
Faust"  in  Providence  we  engaged  Campanari  for 
the  part  of  Mephisto.  He  sang  it  beautifully  but  as 
there  is  little  opportunity  for  applause  he  was  great- 
ly disappointed  when  at  the  close  of  his  principal 
solo  there  was  a  respectful  silence.  Campanari  look- 
ed at  me  curiously  as  I  proceeded  with  the  perform- 
ance. Afterward  he  said,  as  we  were  going  to  the 
hotel,  "They  told  me  that  Providence  audiences  were 
very  intelligent  and  I  have  found  they  are  too  d— 
intelligent  for  me!" 

William  Ludwig  was  very  successful  as  an  opera- 
tic and  oratorio  singer.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
an  authority  on  Irish  folk  songs  and  sang  these 
inimitably.  He  was  himself  an  Irishman,  whose  orig- 
inal name  was  Ledwidge,  but  as  the  public  insisted 
on  rendering  this  as  Ludwig,  he  finally  adopted  the 
latter  version.  He  was  rather  unwise,  though,  in 
giving  so  many  Irish  concerts  as  he  did,  for  he  rarely 
made  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  of  these,  for  which 
at  one  time  he  brought  singers,  all  excellent,  from 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES  I  HAVE  MET  125 

Ireland,  I  believe.  I  used  to  argue  with  him  about 
it,  but  to  no  avail.  He  came  to  my  house  one  Sunday 
from  Boston,  where  he  had  been  giving  his  Irish 
presentations.  "Come,"  said  he,  "come  with  me  to 
Fall  River,  I  have  a  concert  there  to-night."  "An 
Irish  concert?"  "Yes,  but  you  won't  mind  that,  will 
you?" 

I  went  with  him  and  was  given  a  seat  in  one  of 
the  stage  boxes.  Into  the  same  box  were  soon  after 
ushered  the  mayor  of  the  city  and  a  prominent  local 
Irish  physician,  to  both  of  whom  I  was  introduced. 
After  Ludwig's  first  song  a  highly  amusing  conversa- 
tion or  rather  dispute  between  these  two  arose. 
Indeed  so  heated  grew  the  controversy  that  I  feared 
for  the  public  peace,  but  the  concert  closed  without 
bloodshed  and  Ludwig  was  immensely  amused  when 
I  related  parts  of  the  argument.  "But  come,"  said 
he.  "I'm  hungry,  let's  find  something  to  eat."  At  that 
time  every  thing  in  the  line  of  a  restaurant  was 
closed  tight  on  Sunday,  but  we  finally  discovered 
a  sort  of  bar  where  we  found  some  sandwiches  and 
possibly  some  beer  (though  I  am  not  so  sure  about 
this),  when  I  observed  a  beetle-browed  indivi- 
dual sitting  near  who  eyed  Ludwig  with  con- 
siderable curiosity,  finally  calling  out  with  an  un- 
usually rich  brogue,  "They  say  ye're  from  Dublin." 
"Oh,  yes,"  grumblingly  assented  Ludwig  as  he  hun- 
grily munched  his  sandwich.  "Lave  it  there,  thin,"  ex- 
tending a  brawny  hand.  After  a  moment  or  so  came 
another  question.  "D'ye  know  the  Coombe?"  "Oh 
yes,  I  know  the  Coombe."  "Lave  it  there,  thin." 
Another  interval.  "An'  d'ye  know  the  Pottle,"  "Yes, 
yes,  I  know  the  Pottle."  "Lave  it  there,  thin."  I 
looked  closely  at  the  questioner,  whose  hair  had 
been  shaved  so  closely  that  the  scalp  looked  blue. 


126          THE   HAPPENINGS   OF   A  MUSICAL   LIFE 

Said  I  quietly,  "My  friend  who  cut  your  hair?"  Like 
a  shot  Ludwig  wheeled  around,  evidently  expecting 
to  see  me  felled  to  the  floor  but  instead  came  a  meek 
response,  "The  barrrber,  av  coorse,"  but  he  did 
not  offer  me  his  hand. 

Ludwig  used  to  tell  of  this  to  his  other  friends 
when  I  was  present,  calling  it  "the  encounter  be- 
tween his  Puritan  friend  and  one  of  his  countrymen." 
He  was  a  jovial  companion  as  well  as  a  fine  singer 
and  a  great  favorite  with  his  audiences  and  with 
all  whom  he  knew. 

The  last  time  that  I  saw  Madame  Nordica  was 
when  she  came  to  sing  in  a  concert  for  the  Arion 
Club  in  a  miscellaneous  programme  in  which  she 
appeared  in  her  best  part,  that  of  the  soprano  in  Ros- 
sini's "Stabat  Mater."  I  say  best,  meaning  that 
her  voice  found  its  best  opportunity  in  this  work. 
She  also  sang  in  Gounod's  "Gallia."  I  had  written 
a  song  for  her  too,  an  "Ave  Maria."  I  met  her  at 
the  train  and  escorted  her  to  the  hotel.  As  we  left 
the  station  she  began  to  speak  of  the  "Ave,"  say- 
ing, "My  sister  cries  when  she  hears  me  sing  it.  I  like 
it  and  want  to  sing  it  to  your  satisfaction." 

"Shall  I  go  to  the  hotel  to  try  it  with  you,"  I  asked, 
"or  will  you  come  to  my  studio,  which  is  close  by?" 
We  went  to  the  studio  and  she  sang  the  song  per- 
fectly. Yet  she  insisted  on  repetition  after  repetition. 
"I  want  to  satisfy  you  in  every  particular,  for  I'm 
afraid  of  you!"  "Yes,"  said  I,  "I  should  think  you'd 
be  afraid  of  me."  "Well,  I  am,"  and  she  would 
march  up  and  down  by  the  piano,  dodging  each  time 
a  low-hanging  electric  light  fixture  which  threat- 
ened her  high  hat.  She  was  all  unconscious  of  this, 
so  interested  was  she  in  "satisfying"  poor  me.  She 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES  I  HAVE  MET  127 

had  a  brilliant  success  and  I  wrote  the  following 
about  her  only  a  few  months  later: 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Sunday  Journal : 

Filled  with  a  sense  of  well  nigh  personal  bereave- 
ment at  the  untimely  death  of  Madame  Nordica, 
may  I  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  space  to  pay  for 
myself  and  for  the  members  of  the  Arion  Club  with 
whom  Madame  Nordica  has  been  many  times  most 
happily  associated  a  tribute  of  respect  and  admira- 
tion for  her  memory. 

I  first  met  Madame  Nordica  in  Paris  in  the  summer 
of  1882.  Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogg,  a  helpful  and 
firm  friend  of  mine,  was  also  in  Paris  and,  always 
ready  to  promote  good  fellowship  among  musical 
people,  introduced  me  to  Madame  Nordica.  Both 
had  been  studying  with  the  famous  Maestro  Sbriglia 
and,  at  their  suggestion,  I  too  became  one  of  his 
pupils. 

Returning  to  Paris  the  following  summer  for  fur- 
ther study  I  found  Madame  Nordica  preparing  for 
her  debut  at  the  Grand  Opera.  I  was  present  on 
that  occasion,  accompanying  Sbriglia,  who  had  in- 
vited me  to  go  with  him.  The  opera  was  "Faust,"  and 
in  the  part  of  Margarita,  Madame  Nordica  made  a 
pronounced  success,  although  at  that  time  she  had 
not  come  to  the  full  measure  of  her  artistry. 

Some  months  after  this  she  returned  to  America 
and  began  a  series  of  successful  concerts,  the  first 
of  which  was  given  at  Portland,  Me.  Madame 
Nordica  paid  me  at  that  time  the  honor  of  selecting 
me  as  the  tenor  of  her  company.  She  sang  with 
the  Arion  Club  first  in  Rossini's  "Stabat  Mater," 
a  work  in  which  she  had  no  peer.  Later  she  ap- 
peared with  the  club  in  Verdi's  "Requiem,"  "Lohen- 
grin," in  two  miscellaneous  concerts,  singing  in  one 


128         THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

"Barbara  Frietchie"  and  in  another  "Gallia";  and 
once  more  in  "Stabat  Mater"  and  "Gallia"  only  three 
short  years  ago. 

Her  glorious  voice,  her  statuesque  beauty  and  her 
wondrous  personal  charm  were  ever  a  constant  de- 
light. Those  who  were  present  at  her  last  appear- 
ance here  can  never  forget,  I  am  sure,  the  gracious 
and  kindly  manner  with  which  she  distributed  roses 
from  a  large  bouquet  that  had  been  handed  up  to 
her,  among  the  ladies  of  the  chorus,  while  she  waited 
for  her  accompanist  to  bring  a  song  from  the  ante- 
room. 

This  was  the  last  sight  of  her  that  we  had  or 
alas!  ever  shall  have.  Had  she  only  been  content  to 
enjoy  the  life  of  repose  that  she  had  so  richly  earned 
we  should  not  now  be  mourning  her  loss.  Her  name 
and  fame  will  endure  for  years  and  the  story  of  her 
career  ever  be  an  inspiration,  an  example  and  a 
guide. 

At  one  time  in  Paris  when  I  cafled  upon  Mme. 
Nordica,  who  was  living  that  summer  in  the  house 
of  a  Mr.  Spalding,  the  Paris  agent  of  the  Tiffany 
house,  jewelers,  of  New  York,  Mr.  Spalding  was  on 
his  vacation  in  Switzerland  and  Mme.  Nordica  was 
preparing  for  her  debut  at  the  Paris  Grand  Opera. 
She  said,  after  hearing  me  sing  "Ecco  Ridente"  from 
Rossini's  "II  Barbiere:"  "You  ought  to  sing  that  for 
the  manager  of  the  Grand  Opera.  Come,  I'll  give 
you  a  letter  to  him  and  if  you  take  my  advice  you'll 
go  with  it  to  him."  But  I  declined.  Then  said  she: 
"Do  me  a  favor."  "Certainly,  what  is  it?"  "A  friend 
of  mine,  Mr.  Scovelli,  an  American  with  whom  I 
have  sung  opera  in  Italy,  is  here  in  Paris  and  I  have 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES  I  HAVE  MET  129 

been  trying  to  persuade  him  to  go  for  lessons  to 
Sbriglia,  for  I  know  that  Sbriglia  would  help  him. 
He  won't  go,  for  he  is  afraid  that  Sbriglia  might 
harm  his  voice;  however  I  believe  that  if  Scovelli 
could  hear  you  sing,  he  would  forget  his  fears  and 
go.  Will  you  do  it?"  "Of  course  I  will."  An  ap- 
pointment was  made  and  I  sang  for  Scovelli.  At 
first  he  would  not  believe  that  I  was  an  American, 
saying:  "I  never  heard  an  American  sing  like  that 
and  especially  in  Italian."  I  assured  him  that  I  was 
a  real  "Yankee,"  and  I  believe  he  was  convinced. 
At  any  rate  Mme.  Nordica  told  me  afterward  that 
he  went  to  Sbriglia. 

In  this  connection  let  me  relate  another  incident. 
At  one  of  my  lessons  with  Sbriglia  he  had  callers, 
and  excusing  himself  left  the  room  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, during  which  I  went  on  singing  with  Mme. 
Sbriglia,  who  played  his  accompaniments.  On  his 
return  I  observed  that  he  was  smiling.  Said  I  "What 
is  it?  Why  are  you  laughing?"  "Oh,  my  friends 
heard  you  singing  and  when  I  told  them  that  you 
were  an  American  they  would  not  believe  me.  They 
said  that  no  American  can  sing  Italian  like  that." 
I  think  that  they  had  heard  few  Americans,  for 
there  were  even  then  those  of  us  who  sang  Italian 
perfectly  and  now  one  can  count  them  by  thousands. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

MORE  CELEBRITIES 

THE  FIRST  really  great  singer  whose  acquaint- 
ance I  made  was  Clara  Louise  Kellogg,  the  first 
American  prima  donna.  This  happy  event  was 
brought  about  through  the  kindly  offices  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hezekiah  Martin  of  Providence,  whose  lovely 
home  had  been  for  years  a  haven  of  rest  for  Miss 
Kellogg  whenever  she  came  with  her  company  to 
Providence;  and  it  was  in  this  home  that  I  was  in- 
vited to  meet  her,  when  she  was  at  once  so  gracious 
and  kind  as  to  ask  me  to  dine  with  her  that  very  day. 
The  friendship  thus  begun  continued  without  cloud 
or  break  as  long  as  she  lived.  We — the  Martins  and 
I — were  of  her  company  on  a  pleasure  trip  to  Europe 
in  the  early  eighties  and  while  we  were  in  London 
Miss  Kellogg  left  nothing  undone  that  could  minis- 
ter to  my  happiness,  ever  taking  special  pains  to 
introduce  me  to  notable  people  with  whom  she  was 
a  favorite  by  reason  of  her  fame,  her  beauty  and 
her  brilliancy  in  society.  While  on  that  trip  and 
during  our  few  weeks  stay  in  Paris,  she  introduced 
me  to  Mme.  Lillian  Nordica  and  here  began  another 
friendship  the  musical  influence  of  which  was  far 
reaching.  We  formed  a  trio  of  comradeship  and  to- 
gether went  to  concerts  and  visited  interesting  places 
and  persons.  I  distinctly  remember  on  one  July  14th, 
the  great  fete  day  of  France,  we  went  to  the  Bois  de 

130 


MORE  CELEBRITIES  131 

Boulogne  for  dinner,  where  we  had  a  glorious  time 
that  lengthened  till  after  the  hour  when  the  fiacres 
and  other  means  of  transit  were  ordered  from  the 
streets  in  order  to  give  the  populace  the  fullest  free- 
dom for  their  celebration.  Consequently  we  were 
obliged  to  walk  the  entire  distance  back  to  Paris.  But 
the  novelty  of  it  all,  and  the  good  spirits  of  our  spe- 
cial trio,  made  the  distance  and  the  fatigue  as  noth- 
ing. Miss  Kellogg  had  a  great  admiration  for  Mme. 
Nordica  and  I  have  often  heard  her  speak  of  the 
beauty  of  Nordica's  voice.  She  declared  that  she  had 
never  heard  the  "Ritorna  Vincitor"  in  "Aida"  sung  as 
well  as  Nordica  always  sang  it.  This  was  great  praise 
from  one  who  had  herself  made  one  of  her  greatest 
successes  in  this  opera. 

The  voice  of  Miss  Kellogg  always  seemed  to  me 
diamond-like  in  its  purity  and  brilliancy,  while  that 
of  Nordica  was  warmer  and  deeper  in  color.  This 
I  think  is  a  fair  estimate  of  the  difference  in  quality. 
Both  artists  had  the  same  wonderful  conscientious- 
ness about  their  singing.  Miss  Kellogg,  being  a  re- 
markably fine  reader  and  musician,  had  a  great 
advantage ;  Mme.  Nordica,  was  not  as  apt  in  this 
direction,  yet  one  would  hardly  believe,  hearing 
Nordica  in  any  of  her  parts,  that  they  had  been 
learned  only  by  dint  of  thousands  of  repetitions. 

I  well  remember  going  from  Providence  to  New 
Bedford  with  Mme.  Nordica  at  one  time  when  she 
was  to  sing  at  a  music  festival  there  at  which  also  my 
Barbara  Frietchie  was  given.  At  that  time  she  was 
not  well  and  seemed  discouraged — even  then,  after 
she  had  already  made  her  successes  in  opera  abroad! 
She  said  to  me  that  day:  "Mr.  Jordan,  if  I  had 
my  life  to  live  over,  I  would  never  choose  to  become 
a  singer!"  I  did  my  best  to  change  her  outlook  and 


132  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

I  think  that  I  helped  her  to  a  happier  frame  of  mind. 
The  next  year  she  was  to  sing  at  the  Worcester  fes- 
tival, in  which  I  too  had  a  share.  We  met  there  and 
she  said  to  me  one  morning:  "I  want  you  to  help  me, 
I  have  to  sing  at  the  concert  this  afternoon  something 
that  I  do  not  know."  "What  is  it?"  "The  opening 
number  in  Mendelssohn's  'Lorelei.'  I  have  long 
known  the  big  'finale,'  but  never  sang  this  number, 
'Ave  Maria'."  "That's  very  simple,"  said  I;  "it  is 
only  a  few  bars  like  this" — and  I  hummed  the  melo- 
dy. 

"Ah!"  said  she,  "you  don't  know  what  I  mean; 
come  and  play  it  for  me  and  you'll  see."  I  went  to 
the  hotel,  where  she  had  a  piano  at  her  disposal. 
I  played  the  simple  melody  for  her  time  and  time 
again,  astonished  that  she  could  not  read  it.  I  went 
to  hear  her  sing  at  the  concert,  and  she  sang  it — all 
wrong ! 

All  the  more  credit  and  honor  to  her  then,  that, 
even  after  her  period  of  discouragement  she  learned 
those  mighty  Wagnerian  roles  that  she  sang  with 
such  wonderful  success  at  the  Metropolitan  two  or 
three  years  later.  Meeting  her  in  Boston  during  her 
engagement  at  the  Metropolitan,  she  invited  me  to 
come  to  New  York  to  hear  her  in  "Tristan"  with  Jean 
DeReske.  I  gladly  accepted  the  invitation.  "But," 
said  I,  "tell  me,  how  did  you  ever  learn  Tristan?" 
She  well  knew  what  I  meant  and  smilingly  replied, 
"I  spent  my  last  vacation  in  Switzerland.  On  my 
arrival  there  I  went  to  a  hotel  for  a  suite  of  rooms. 
'Oh  yes,'  they  told  me,  'we  shall  feel  honored  to  have 
you  with  us.'  'But  I  have  an  opera  to  learn  and  shall 
have  to  practice  a  great  deal.'  'All  the  better;  the 
guests  will  be  delighted.'  I  would  stay  perhaps  two 
days  in  a  place  when  the  proprietor  would  come  to 


MORE  CELEBRITIES  133 

me  with  a  thousand  excuses  which  wound  up  with 
the  declaration  that  the  guests  had  complained  so 
much  that  he  was  forced  to  ask  me  to  go  elsewhere. 
This  I  would  do,  going  from  hotel  to  hotel,  when  the 
same  story  would  be  repeated." 

I  was  present  at  Xordica's  debut  in  "Faust"  at  the 
Grand  Opera  in  Paris,  sitting  during  the  performance 
with  Sbriglia,  her  teacher  and  mine.  I  say  "her 
teacher";  Nordica  had  begun  study  years  before 
with  John  O'Neil  at  the  old  New  England  Conserva- 
tory, then  going  abroad  with  Gilmore's  Band.  She 
remained  in  Europe  on  the  band's  return,  in  order 
to  study  and  make  a  start  in  opera,  studying  as 
she  told  me  in  Italy  with  San  Giovanni  and  others. 
She  afterward  went  to  St.  Petersburg,  where  Miss 
Kellogg,  who  also  sang  in  the  opera  there,  first  met 
her  and  where  they  became  fast  friends.  Coming 
to  Paris,  she  began  to  study  with  Sbriglia.  Through 
some  oversight,  perhaps,  on  the  part  of  the  reporters 
who  wrote  of  Nordica's  debut  in  Paris  no  mention 
was  made  of  Sbriglia's  share  in  preparing  her,  much 
to  his  disappointment  and  sorrow.  But  that's  the 
way  oftentimes  with  things  musical  and  it  is  a  diffi- 
cult matter  to  readjust  them  afterward. 

I  dwell  upon  my  acquaintance  with  these  two 
American  singers  because  I  knew  them  both  so  long 
and  so  well. 

Others  whom  I  have  met  through  their  engage- 
ments with  the  Arion  chorus  in  Providence  have 
been  just  as  interesting  even  though  the  acquaint- 
ance was  of  shorter  duration.  William  Ludwig,  the 
Irish  English  baritone,  who  came  first  to  America 
to  join  the  American  Opera  Company  under  Theo- 
dore Thomas,  sang  the  part  of  Elijah  with  us  in 
Providence  at  our  first  performance  of  this  oratorio, 


134  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

the  first  of  the  long  list  of  such  works  that  we  eventu- 
ally gave.  He  became  at  once  a  great  favorite  with 
our  public  and  a  staunch  friend  of  mine.  He  was 
often  with  us  at  my  home  with  the  Martins  whom 
I  have  spoken  of  and  found  there  a  home  for  him- 
self, as  did  many  others  of  the  artists  who  came  to 
sing  at  these  concerts,  notably  Edward  Lloyd,  the 
great  English  tenor;  Ben  Davis,  the  Welsh  tenor; 
and  Andreas  Dippel  of  the  Metropolitan,  who  came 
to  sing  the  part  of  "Faust"  in  Berlioz's  "La  Dam- 
nation de  Faust,"  on  which  occasion  he  was  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  H.  E.  Krehbiel,  the  eminent  critic  of 
the  New  York  Tribune.  Apropos  of  this,  Mr.  Dippel, 
whose  English  while  elegant  was  at  that  time  liable 
to  accidents,  said  on  taking  his  leave  of  Mrs.  Martin, 
the  hostess:  "I  must  thank  you,  madame,  for  your 
kind  hostility!"  The  laugh  that  followed  from 
Krehbiel  and  the  others  can  well  be  imagined. 

Max  Heinrich  always  came  to  us,  as  did  William 
H.  Rieger,  a  most  satisfactory  tenor,  reliable  as  the 
sun;  Ellison  Van  Hoose  and  his'  charming  wife, 
Gertrude  Edmands,  one  of  the  best  of  oratorio  con- 
traltos ;  Jennie  Patrick  Walker,  George  Prehn,  Emilio 
de  Gogorza,  Gwillym  Miles,  Evan  Williams,  Mme. 
Rider  Kelsey,  Claude  Cunningham,  Anita  Rio, 
Ffrangcon  Davis,  the  Welsh  baritone,  and  many 
others.  Mme.  Sembrich,  Mme.  Melba,  Emma  Eames, 
Mme.  Nordica,  all  have  sung  with  us,  but  as  they 
came  with  a  host  of  followers  our  little  home  could 
not  hold  them,  yet  all  were  friends.  Emma  Juch,  one 
of  the  best  sopranos  ever  heard  here,  was  such  a 
favorite  that  the  public  never  tired  of  her. 

To  speak  of  the  satisfaction  I  derived  from  the 
privilege  of  conducting  for  such  distinguished  artists 
would  take  too  long,  but  I  treasure  the  memory 


MORE  CELEBRITIES  135 

and  have  always  appreciated  my  privilege.  In  an- 
other chapter  will  be  found  a  complete  list  of  the 
artists  who  have  assisted  at  concerts  given  under  my 
direction  and  I  am  proud  to  believe  that  all  of  them 
became  my  friends. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

IN  LONDON  AND  ELSEWHERE 

THROUGH  the  friendly  interest  of  Mme.  Helena 
Modjeska,  whom  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  meet 
on  shipboard  once  when  going  to  Europe,  I  was  en- 
abled to  meet  some  notable  people  whom  otherwise 
I  probably  should  not  have  known.  Mme.  Modjeska 
gave  me  letters  of  introduction  to  Sir  Arthur  Sulli- 
van, Hamilton  Aide,  a  famous  dilettante,  and  others. 
Mr.  Aide  invited  me  to  a  morning  musicale  at  his 
house  and  asked  me  to  sing,  a  courtesy  I  gladly  ac- 
cepted. I  have  forgotten  what  I  sang,  but  I  remem- 
ber that  the  piano  stood  directly  by  the  entrance 
door  of  the  large  drawing  room,  which  on  this  oc- 
casion was  used  as  a  music  room.  The' room  was  filled 
with  people  and  as  I  stood  singing  near  the  door, 
which  was  at  the  head  of  the  staircase  leading  down 
to  the  street  floor,  I  heard  some  one  ascending.  Now 
and  then  he  seemed  to  pause  and  I  heard  these 
words  several  times  repeated  as  he  stopped :  "Quel 
beP  voce,  quel  beP  voce!"  The  speaker  entered  as 
I  closed  the  song  and  I  was  at  once  introduced  to 
him,  Signor  Paola  Tosti.  He  expressed  his  pleasure 
at  my  singing  and  invited  me  to  call  upon  him  at 
his  apartments,  which  I  did  the  next  morning,  when 
I  had  a  most  delightful  hour.  Aide  composed  the 
simple  yet  beautiful  song  "Upon  the  Danube  River," 

136 


IN  LONDON  AND  ELSEWHERE  137 

a  song  with  which  I  have  made  many  dear  friends, 
and  it  was  a  delight  for  me  to  meet  him.  He  was  a 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  of  about  68  or  70  years 
when  I  met  him  but  well  preserved,  a  kindly,  courte- 
ous man  of  the  world. 

I  also  met  in  London  and  became  very  friendly 
with  Luigi  Denza,  another  song  writer  whose  fame 
is  wide.  He  was  enthusiastic  about  my  singing  of 
one  of  his  songs,  "Star  of  my  Heart,"  begging  me  to 
prolong  my  stay  in  London  till  a  certain  Christine 
Nilsson  concert  in  the  Royal  Albert  Hall  should  take 
place,  when  he  would  certainly  arrange  to  have  me 
sing  this  song,  but  I  had  appointments  in  Paris  that 
forbade  my  acceptance  of  the  flattering  offer. 

When  I  was  in  London  it  was  usually  during  the 
last  six  weeks  of  the  opera  season  and  I  felt  that 
I  must  go  to  every  opera  possible,  as  a  means  of 
education,  but  I  overdid  the  matter  to  such  an  extent 
that  finally  one  sounded  like  any  other  to  me.  That 
is  to  say  I  became  so  fatigued  by  going  night  after 
night  that  it  did  me  no  good.  I  mention  this  by  way 
of  warning  to  any  other  music  devotee. 

In  this  connection  I  must  mention  some  operatic 
performances  that  I  attended  in  Germany  once  when 
on  a  short  trip  down  the  Rhine.  I  went  to  Leipzig, 
where  I  was  interested  to  see  the  famous  conserva- 
tory. It  was  closed  at  that  time  of  the  year,  but  the 
opera  was  still  on  and  I  went  to  hear  "Aida."  It 
was  simply  the  worst  performance  of  an  opera  that  I 
ever  heard  anywhere.  I  went  from  Leipzig  to  Frank- 
furt, where  I  saw  a  performance  of  "Fidelio"  ad- 
vertised. Remembering  the  Leipzig  "Aida,"  I  was 
more  than  half  inclined  not  to  attend  but  overcoming 
my  reluctance  I  made  the  venture,  when  to  my  great 
delight  I  heard  the  best  performance  I  ever  heard 


138  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

of  any  opera  anywhere.  It  was  simply  perfect  and 
the  only  other  operatic  production  at  all  comparable 
to  this  was  that  of  Mozart's  "Marriage  of  Figaro" 
once  at  the  old  Opera  Comique  in  Paris.  This,  too, 
was  ideal  and  never  to  be  forgotten.  A  memorable 
concert  I  also  once  heard  in  the  Trocadero  in  Paris, 
when  the  great  French  baritone  Faure  sang  to  my 
utter  delight.  I  distinctly  remember  his  singing 
among  other  things  his  own  "La  Charite"  and  "Le 
Printemps"  of  Gounod  with  harp  accompaniment 
and  with  beautiful  voice,  poetic  grace  and  style. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

PRESS  AND  PUBLIC 

A  SOUVENIR 

Being  the  reprint  of  a  circular  published  in  1890 
by  L.  M.  Ruben,  of  New  York,  at  that  time  manager 
for  Dr.  Jules  Jordan,  who  had  accepted  an  invitation 
to  teach  singing  at  the  New  York  National  Conser- 
vatory of  Music  in  East  17th  St.,  a  position  that  he 
resigned  when  asked  to  sign  a  contract  whereby  he 
would  be  obliged  to  make  the  journey  from  Provi- 
dence to  New  York  twice  each  week. 

The  Press  notices  printed  herein  are  but  a  few  of 
the  many  complimentary  notices  of  Dr.  Jordan's 
singing  at  that  time  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
notably  of  the  first  "La  Damnation  de  Faust"  per- 
formances in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Newark,  Bos- 
ton and  at  Worcester,  where  he  sang  the  part  of 
Faust  in  this  great  work,  two  successive  seasons, 
and  where  he  appeared  in  all,  as  one  of  the  principal 
soloists,  at  five  Worcester  Festivals. 

JULES  JORDAN 

The  Art  of  Singing 

ORATORIO  AND  CONCERT 

Mr.  Jordan  studied  with  Signer  Sbriglia  of  Paris. 
While  there  he  declined  an  exceptionally  remun- 

139 


140  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

erative  offer  to  begin  an  operatic  career,  preferring 
Oratorio  and  Concert  in  his  own  country.  His  voice, 
a  tenor  of  sufficient  compass  and  power,  is  pos- 
sessed of  a  rare  and  remarkable  sympathetic  quality, 
which,  in  the  German  and  Italian  songs  of  the  mod- 
ern romantic  school,  is  very  effective. 

Mr.  Jordan  created  the  part  of  "Faust"  in  Berlioz' 
"La  Damnation  de  Faust,"  in  America,  and  has  sung 
it  at  nearly  every  important  presentation.  He  has 
sung  with  the  leading  musical  societies,  and  has  es- 
tablished his  reputation  for  Oratorio  and  Classical 
Concerts. 

"St.  Paul." 

"No  tenor  of  finer  style  or  better  method  has 
visited  Baltimore  for  many  a  year.  His  enunciation 
is  good,  his  intonation  perfect,  and  his  voice  has  a 
rich  sympathetic  quality  which  is  charming,  and  a 
tender  delicacy  which  greatly  enhances  its  attract- 
iveness. As  it  fills  Boston  Music  Hall  and  the  Fifth 
Regiment  Armory,  it  has  power  enough  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes.  He  does  not  force  his  upper  notes, 
and  his  middle  and  lower  tones  are  always  resonant. 
His  pianissimo  notes  were  very  fine,  and  his  manner 
of  singing  recitatives  excellent." — Times. 

"The  Redemption." 

"Mr.  Jordan  gives  the  trying  tenor  music  with 
great  intelligence,  earnestness,  and  pure  taste." — 
Tribune. 

"The  Damnation  of  Faust." 

"Mr.  Jordan  surpassed  all  his  former  efforts  in 
his  arduous  task  in  the  double  role  of  the  tenor  nar- 
rator and  the  penitent  thief,  and  the  declamation 
of  his  recitatives  was  characterized  by  an  artistic 


PRESS  AND  PUBLIC  141 

care  and  phrasing  which  could  hardly  be  surpassed. 
His  voice  withstood  the  severe  work  marvellously." 
— Boston  Herald. 

"Mr.  Jordan,  as  the  narrator  of  the  sacred  story, 
had  the  hardest  task  of  the  evening,  and  acquitted 
himself  on  the  whole  extremely  well.  His  singing 
was  marked  for  taste,  refinement  and  expression, 
and  there  was  through  it  all  a  subdued  and  rev- 
erential color  which  gave  it  a  great  charm." — Bos- 
ton Journal. 

Berlioz's  "Romeo  and  Juliet." 

"Mr.  Jordan  made  a  very  pleasing  effort  in  his 
songs,  his  singing  showing  the  same  excellences 
which  have  justly  made  him  such  a  favorite  with 
the  concert  going  public." — Boston  Herald. 

"Mr.  Jules  Jordan,  the  tenor,  made  a  fine  display 
of  his  superb  young  voice,  singing  with  a  manly  free- 
dom and  directness,  yet  with  most  exquisite  enun- 
ciation and  elegant  phrasing.  Mr.  Jordan's  selection 
was  Rubinstein's  delicious  "Golden  Rolls  Beneath 
Me,"  or  "Would  It  Were  Ever  Abiding,"  and  he  was, 
of  course,  rapturously  encored." — Boston  Trans- 
cript. 

"The  very  charming  tenor  song,  by  Rubinstein, 
"Golden  Rolls  Beneath  Me,"  was  sung  by  Mr.  Jules 
Jordan.  His  rendering  of  the  song  was  faultless, 
and  the  audience  was  enthusiastic  in  an  encore.  Mr. 
Jordan  is  a  very  valuable  acquisition  to  our  limited 
list  of  really  good  American  tenors." — Boston  Jour- 
nal. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

SOME  SUCCESSFUL  PUPILS 

I  HAVE  MADE  special  mention  in  other  chapters 
of  cases  where  the  particular  features  seemed  to 
me  to  warrant  it,  but  there  are  others  deserving  of 
mention  by  reason  of  their  successful  public  appear- 
ances. Among  them  are  the  following  named : 

Walter  E.  Rogers,  began  by  singing  baritone  in 
a  church  choir  for  several  years.  His  voice  de- 
veloped with  study  into  a  fine  dramatic  tenor  and 
has  served  him  well,  in  church,  in  concert  and  in 
opera,  for  he  has  had  notable  successes  as  Lionel  in 
"Martha"  and  as  Turridu  in  "Cavalleria  Rusticana." 
He  would  have  made  his  mark  in  grand  opera  had  he 
chosen  that  field  of  endeavor. 

William  E.  Rogers,  with  a  fine  tenor  voice,  sweet 
and  powerful,  had  many  concert  successes  and  was 
a  reliable  church  singer  for  many  years  till  failing 
health  compelled  a  rest. 

Albert  E.  Burrow,  baritone,  sang  successfully  in 
church  and  concert  and  must  be  credited  with  some 
excellent  performances  of  the  part  of  Plunket  in 
"Martha." 

Mary  McCabe,  soprano,  excels  as  a  singer  of 
church  and  concert  music.  Her  performance  of  the 
part  of  La  Gioconda  in  Ponchielli's  opera  of  that 
title  proved  her  unusual  abilities  in  operatic  roles. 

142 


SOME  SUCCESSFUL  PUPILS  143 

Anthony  Fontes,  the  possessor  of  a  beautiful  bari- 
tone voice,  has  been  a  favorite  for  years  as  a  church 
and  concert  singer,  and  his  recent  appearances  in 
operatic  parts  have  greatly  increased  his  popularity. 

William  D.  Stone  has  a  basso  profundo  voice, 
which  served  him  well  till,  preferring  to  conduct  a 
large  and  successful  choir,  he  gave  up  his  vocal  as- 
pirations. 

Lucia  Chagnon,  at  this  writing  but  16  years  of 
age,  has  a  soprano  voice  surprisingly  mature,  over 
which  she  has  already  gained  a  control  and  poise 
very  remarkable,  singing  Gounod's  "Ave  Maria," 
Godard's  "Lullaby"  and  other  parts  as  exacting  with 
the  finish  of  an  artist. 

Joseph  Alexander  is  a  fine  tenor,  with  excellent 
natural  style  and  expression.  He  has  made  many 
successful  concert  and  operatic  appearances. 

Abraham  Oster  possesses  an  unexcelled  baritone 
voice,  of  golden  quality  and  unusual  power  and 
range.  He  only  lacks  educational  opportunities  to 
place  him  in  the  front  rank  of  operatic  singers. 

James  Armstrong  is  a  tenor  of  natural  excellence 
and  of  good  method.  His  voice  has  served  him  long 
and  well  in  concert  and  church  engagements. 

C.  Wilson  Stanwood  was  formerly  a  pupil  of  Ivan 
Mowrowski  of  Boston.  Coming  to  Providence,  he 
continued  his  studies  with  me  and  became  one  of  the 
best  baritones  in  town,  filling  several  of  the  most  im- 
portant church  positions.  He  is  now  singing  in  the 
First  Congregational  Church  of  Fall  River. 

John  Carpenter  of  Peace  Dale,  R.  I.,  has  a  good 
tenor  voice  and  fine  musicianship.  He  is  a  good  con- 
ductor and  an  all-round  able  man. 

Mrs.  Jennie  Carpenter  Kimball,  Mr.  Carpenter's 


144  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

sister,  is  equally  talented  in  voice  and  musicianship, 
an  able  pianist  and  organist.  Her  influence  for  the 
good  of  music  has  been  great. 

Mrs.  Percy  Wright,  formerly  of  Providence,  now 
living  in  Peace  Dale,  was  a  pupil  with  whom  it  was 
ever  a  pleasure  to  work  and  whose  great  intelli- 
gence and  musical  aptitude  made  that  work  easy,  a 
successful  church  singer. 

Frank  Story,  also  of  Peace  Dale,  developed  a  fine 
baritone  voice  from  not  over-promising  beginnings 
and  has  become  a  favorite  and  reliable  singer. 

Mrs.  Edwina  Hodgkiss  Belot,  gifted  with  a  nat- 
ural soprano  voice  of  beautiful  sympathetic  quality 
and  powerful  withal,  studied  faithfully  and  sang  in 
concert  and  church  till  domestic  cares  superseded 
her  musical  activities. 

Herbert  Wilkinson  is  an  excellent  baritone  who 
might  have  made  his  mark  as  a  singer  of  high  attain- 
ments. Business  interests,  however,  claimed  him. 

William  Rowse  is  a  basso  cantante  of  unusual 
worth,  who  has  sung  in  church  and'  concert  with  un- 
varying success. 

Miss  Jennie  Hunter  (Tanner),  is  an  unusually  fine 
contralto,  rich  and  deep  with  an  excellent  command 
of  the  upper  register.  She  developed  her  musician- 
ship slowly  but  surely  and  has  long  held  enviable 
positions  in  Providence,  in  Boston  and  at  the  Rogers 
Memorial  Church  in  Fair  Haven,  Mass. 

Butler  Church's  deep  basso  profundo  has  been  for 
years  a  bulwark  of  strength  and  reliability  in  church 
and  concert  work. 

John  Kelso,  a  successful  business  man,  has  yet 
found  time  to  develop  a  baritone  voice  of  fine  qual- 


SOME  SUCCESSFUL  PUPILS  145 

ity  and  range,  which  he  has  put  to  good  use  in 
church  and  concert  singing. 

Ada  Smith  is  another  tower  of  strength  wherever 
placed  in  church  or  concert.  An  excellent  reader, 
her  fine  contralto  has  proved  invaluable. 

Alice  W.  Darling  developed  from  rather  unprom- 
ising material  a  mezzo-contralto  voice  that  has 
proved  on  many  occasions  to  be  of  the  utmost  value. 

Mrs.  Charles  Moulton  Stone  was  for  many  years 
the  foremost  church  contralto  in  Providence,  singing 
also  successfully  in  many  a  concert. 

Mrs.  Fred  Elsbree  is  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Stone  and 
like  her  a  reliable  singer  on  all  occasions. 

Mrs.  W.  H.  Pettytt  of  Peace  Dale  is  gifted  with  a 
lyric  soprano  voice  of  extraordinarily  beautiful 
quality  and  developed  power.  She  retains  all  the 
beauty  of  tone  natural  to  her,  and  has  sung  success- 
fully in  "Elijah,"  "The  Golden  Legend"  and  many 
other  works  of  like  calibre. 

Miss  Sue  McKaye,  soprano,  for  many  years  sang 
to  great  acceptance  at  both  the  First  Congregational 
Church  in  Providence  and  the  First  Congregational 
Church  in  Pawtucket.  She  was  one  of  my  earliest 
pupils,  with  whose  rapid  improvement  I  was  ever 
astonished.  She  was  also  a  successful  concert  singer 
and  has  become  an  excellent  teacher  of  singing. 

Miss  Annie  Moulton,  formerly  of  Providence,  now 
teaching  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  was  another  of  my 
early  pupils  and  gifted  with  a  fine  soprano  voice.  On 
finishing  her  studies  with  me  she  went  to  Paris,  be- 
coming a  pupil  of  Mme.  Marchesi.  She  was  invar- 
iably successful  as  a  singer. 

Miss  Luella  Flagg  of  Worcester  had  studied  well 
before  she  came  to  me.  I  found  her  well  equipped 


146  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

and  gave  her  several  engagements,  in  which  her  dra- 
matic mezzo-contralto  found  opportunities  that  she 
was  quick  to  make  the  most  of. 

Thomas  Livingstone,  formerly  of  Providence  but 
for  many  years  now  a  resident  of  Newport,  was  a 
favorite  baritone  and  sang  frequently  in  concert  and 
in  church. 

Mrs.  Carrie  Doty  Spooner  was  formerly  much  in 
demand  not  only  hereabout  but  in  Hartford  and 
Worcester,  filling  church  engagements  of  import- 
ance in  both  those  cities.  She  developed  a  fine  so- 
prano voice  and  might  have  taken  a  place  with  the 
great  singers  but  she  chose  instead  a  life  of  domestic 
happiness. 

Mrs.  Evelyn  Jordan  Salisbury,  a  singer  of  unusual 
ability  and  attainments,  began  her  studies  with  me 
and  continued  them  at  length.  She  became  a  singer 
of  great  reliability,  her  dramatic  soprano  voice  and 
her  musicianship  being  of  the  first  order.  Of  a 
charming  and  genial  personality,  she  counts  her 
friends  and  admirers  by  the  hundreds  and  still  de- 
lights them  in  church  and  concert. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  many  pupils  I  have  had  in 
training.  Others  there  are  who,  singing  as  well,  yet 
have  done  so  more  as  a  home  accomplishment,  and 
there  are  others  now  deceased  to  whose  memory  I 
beg  the  privilege  of  paying  a  tribute : 

J.  Frank  Porter,  a  baritone  trained  by  Ronconi 
who  taught  for  a  while  in  Boston,  came  to  Provi- 
dence in  the  early  eighties  and  remaining  here  con- 
tinued his  studies  with  me.  Those  who  remember 
his  voice  will  agree  with  me  that  it  was  one  of  great 
beauty  and  his  singing,  marked  as  it  was  with  a  mus- 
ical fervor  unsurpassed,  gave  always  the  greatest 


SOME  SUCCESSFUL  PUPILS  147 

pleasure  and  satisfaction.  After  several  years  he  re- 
turned to  Boston  and  was  immediately  acclaimed 
there  as  a  remarkable  singer  but  he  died  suddenly. 

Mrs.  Clara  Hicks  Stone  had  studied  singing  in 
New  York  when  on  coming  to  live  in  Providence  she 
began  lessons  with  me.  She  joined  a  large  choir  that 
I  had  organized  at  the  First  Universalist  Church 
chiefly  as  a  school  of  training  for  young  singers,  and, 
the  position  of  soprano  soloist  becoming  vacant,  I 
gave  it  to  her.  She  filled  this  with  great  acceptance 
until  her  death.  The  church  has  placed  in  the  choir 
loft  a  tablet  to  her  memory.  She  was  one  of  the  very 
best  choir  singers  I  ever  knew  and  I  have  had  a  long 
experience  in  choir  leading.  A  lady  in  the  fullest 
sense  of  the  word,  she  left  a  large  circle  of  friends 
who  mourn  her  loss  and  who  miss  her  lovely  voice. 

I  cannot  close  these  memories  without  one  other 
tribute  of  appreciation  and  admiration,  and  this  to 
the  memory  of  Esther  (Essie)  Rice.  Diminutive  of 
body  and  frail,  yet  she  had  an  indomitable  spirit  and 
a  soprano  voice  of  almost  angelic  purity.  With  me  at 
the  piano  or  organ  she  seemed  invincible  and  at- 
tacked the  most  trying  solos  with  perfect  confidence, 
always  to  the  delight  of  her  host  of  friends.  May  her 
gentle  spirit  rest  in  peace ! 


CHAPTER  XXX 

VARIED  MEMORIES 

DURING  MY  LONG  service  in  Grace  Church 
as  soloist  and  choir  master  we  always  had  a 
large  choir  of  young  people,  my  pupils  and  others 
comprising  many  of  the  best,  socially  and  musically, 
in  the  community. 

The  choir,  stretching  in  two  long  lines  from  side 
to  side,  always  when  singing  stood  up  to  the  choir 
railing  which  served  as  a  music  rack  for  the  soloists 
and  the  front  row  of  chorus  singers. 

During  a  service  one  Sunday  as  I  gave  a  hasty 
signal  for  the  choir  to  arise,  a  young  lady  dropped 
two  finger  rings  over  the  railing.  'As  they  fell  to  an 
aisle  below,  one  of  the  ushers  secured  them  and 
brought  them  to  their  owner.  The  acquaintance  thus 
begun  resulted  ere  long  in  a  brilliant  wedding; 
natural  enough,  to  be  sure,  when  one  considers  that 
rings  figured  so  prominently  in  the  affair.  Both  singer 
and  usher  were  and  still  are  two  of  my  best  and 
truest  friends  and  it  has  always  been  a  source  of 
gratification  to  me  to  remember  that  their  romance 
and  mutual  happiness  began  in  my  choir. 

Soon  after  I  had  begun  to  sing  in  Grace  Church  I 
was  invited  to  meet  a  company  of  young  singers  and 
amateurs,  pupils  of  Mr.  Theodore  Barker,  who  used 

148 


VARIED  MEMORIES  149 

to  gather  in  his  studio  to  sing  part  songs,  quartettes, 
etc.  Among  them  I  remember  were  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Frederick  King,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Duncan  Chapin,  J.  U. 
Starkweather  and  several  others,  all  of  whom  were 
very  kind  to  me,  a  strange  lad  from  the  country.  Mr. 
Barker  himself  was  most  friendly  and  encouraging 
and  I  sang  with  him  many  times,  although  I  never 
had  lessons  with  him. 

Mr.  Starkweather  was  about  my  own  age  and  had 
begun  to  sing  the  tenor  solos  in  the  choir  of  St. 
John's  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  his  father  was 
the  organist.  We  became  friends  and  the  friendship 
still  endures.  He  had  a  few  singing  lessons  with  me 
some  years  after  this  and  was  for  a  long  time  the 
soloist  at  St.  John's.  Business  interests  finally  drew 
him  away  from  his  singing,  though  doubtless  he  re- 
tains to  this  day  his  fine  tenor  voice  and  his  artistic 
manner  of  singing. 

There  are  many  musical  people  in  Providence  who 
remember  Robert  Bonner  and  the  great  good  he  ac- 
complished by  reason  of  his  excellence  as  a  piano 
teacher.  He  had  an  honorable  career  and  at  his 
death  there  was  held  for  him  a  memorial  meeting  in 
Infantry  Hall  which  was  well  attended  by  eminent 
musicians  at  home  and  from  abroad,  among  others 
E.  M.  Bowman  of  New  York,  who  played  an  organ 
solo  on  this  occasion.  The  meeting  was  arranged, 
if  I  remember  correctly,  by  N.  B.  Sprague,  then 
organist  of  Grace  Church.  Mr.  Bonner  had  been 
for  several  years  organist  at  St.  John's  Episcopal 
Church  and  its  rector,  Dr.  Richards,  was  invited  to 
pronounce  a  eulogy,  which  he  did  in  a  most  schol- 
arly and  beautiful  manner.  As  he  took  his  seat,  the 


150  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

chairman,  Mr.  Sprague,  introduced  a  prominent  mu- 
sician from  Boston  who  had  been  invited  to  attend. 
This  musician  began  with  a  complimentary  allusion 
to  the  fine  address  of  Dr.  Richards  and  continued  to 
this  effect:  "I  cannot  hope  to  emulate  the  fine  ad- 
dress of  my  predecessor  and  can  only  say  that  when 
I  come  to  a  community  like  this  and  find  that  a  mu- 
sician has  lived  and  served  so  long  in  a  place  as  Mr. 
Bonner  did  and  kept  out  of  debt  and  out  of  jail  then 
I  conclude  that  he  must  have  had  merit!"  This  was 
our  message  from  cultured  Boston ! 

To  speak  of  my  acquaintance,  friendship  and  sub- 
sequent artistic  association  with  Mr  William  Wolff, 
singer,  actor  and  gentleman,  is  a  pleasure  I  cannot 
deny  myself. 

My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Wolff  began  just  as  he 
was  about  to  depart  for  an  extended  tour  with  a 
theatrical  company  in  Australia.  On  his  return  I 
persuaded  him  to  take  the  part  of  .Rip  Van  Winkle 
in  my  opera  of  that  title  at  a  series  of  performances 
in  Providence.  He  was  an  ideal  "Rip"  and  one  of  my 
fondest  dreams  is  to  have  a  metropolitan  perform- 
ance of  the  opera  with  Mr.  Wolff  in  the  title  role, 
for  in  my  opinion  a  better  could  not  be  desired.  Of 
fine  voice,  good  method,  a  genial  and  expressive 
actor,  what  better  need  be?  I  have  often  enjoyed 
the  hospitality  of  his  lovely  summer  home  in  Scitu- 
ate,  Mass.,  where  Mrs.  Wolff  and  he  dispense  good 
cheer  to  their  wide  circle  of  friends. 

I  have  mentioned  elsewhere  that  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Greer,  (Dr.  Greer  was  then  rector  of  Grace  Church, 
Providence  and  afterward  Bishop  of  New  York), 


VARIED  MEMORIES  151 

were  fond  of  my  singing  a  certain  song  of  Schu- 
mann's to  which  words  of  the  hymn  "O  Sacred 
Head"  had  been  adapted.  In  this  connection  let  me 
relate  the  following  incident: 

Mrs.  John  Gardiner  of  Providence,  a  friend  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Greer,  called  on  me  at  my  studio  one 
morning  to  say  that  she  had  received  a  letter  from 
Mrs.  Greer,  in  which  there  was  such  a  kindly  mention 
of  my  singing  of  this  song  that  she  wished  to  tell  me 
of  it.  She  thereupon  read  me  from  the  letter  the  fol- 
lowing quotation:  "We  had  beautiful  services  on 
Good  Friday  and  our  tenor  sang  for  us  our  favorite, 
'Oh  Sacred  Head,'  but  no  one  has  ever  sung  that 
song  as  Mr.  Jordan  used  to  sing  it."  How  character- 
istic of  both  ladies,  the  one  to  have  written  and  the 
other  to  tell  me  of  it ! 

Theodore  Thomas,  a  name  famous  in  the  musical 
annals  of  America,  was  known  to  be  not  only  a  per- 
fect drill  master  and  a  conductor  with  few  equals, 
but  was  known  as  well  to  be  jealous  of  his  great 
reputation  and  a  stickler  for  his  rights.  I  had  sung 
with  him  at  one  of  his  concerts  in  Boston,  soon  after 
which  he  sent  for  me  to  sing  in  Cincinnati  but  a  pre- 
vious engagement  prevented  this  and  the  next  time 
I  met  him  was  in  Detroit  at  a  music  convention, 
when  one  of  Chadwick's  short  pieces  for  chorus  and 
orchestra,  "The  Lovely  Rosabelle,"  was  to  be  sung. 
There  was  a  short  tenor  solo  in  this  which  had  been 
given  to  me  to  sing.  I  had  been  too  busy  to  study  the 
work  as  a  whole,  though  I  was  ready  with  the  solo. 
At  the  rehearsal  Mr.  Thomas,  who  had  always  been 
unusually  courteous  to  me,  asked  me  if  I  knew  the 
work  and  the  correct  tempo.  I  knew  only  the  solo 


152  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

and  told  him  so.  He  began  the  piece  and  when  it 
came  to  the  solo  I  found  the  tempo  to  be  wrong.  In 
what  particular  I  do  not  now  remember,  but  stop- 
ping I  exclaimed:  "No,  that's  not  right,"  where- 
upon the  conductor  flew  into  a  rage,  telling  me  final- 
ly that  he  allowed  no  one  to  dictate  to  him  in  the 
matter  of  tempo  or  anything  else !  This,  after  asking 
my  advice,  seemed  to  me  rather  inconsistent,  but  I 
could  say  nothing. 

After  the  rehearsal  the  leader  of  the  orchestra 
said  to  me,  "You  were  right,  but  had  you  known  him 
as  we  do  you'd  have  waited  till  after  the  rehearsal 
to  tell  him,  for  he  never  will  take  a  word  from  any 
one  during  rehearsal."  In  the  evening,  at  the  per- 
formance, he  took  the  solo  at  my  tempo  and  seemed 
to  have  forgotten  his  temperamental  outburst,  but  I 
never  have. 

To  be  invited  to  meet  a  company  of  singers  brought 
together  by  the  interest  of  one  or  two,  perhaps,  who 
felt  that  a  choral  society  conducted  in  the  right 
way  would  prove  a  benefit  to  the  community  is  an 
interesting  occasion;  Such  has  been  my  meeting  with 
the  Stonington,  Connecticut,  Chorus  organized  in 
January,  1921,  through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  H.  R. 
Palmer,  Mrs.  Palmer  and  others.  There  were  about 
75  singers  present  at  the  first  rehearsal,  not  one  of 
whom  I  had  ever  seen,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Palmers.  We  had  recently  had  a  very  popular  suc- 
cess at  Peace  Dale  with  Donizetti's  "The  Daughter 
of  the  Regiment,"  a  success  greatly  assisted  by  the 
fact  that  fortune  favored  us  in  the  appearance  of  a 
young  singer  ideally  suited  to  the  title  role.  The 
opera  is  so  bright  and  tuneful  that  I  realized  if  only 


VARIED  MEMORIES  153 

a  new  chorus  could  be  led  little  by  little  to  see  the 
import  of  the  story  nothing  could  be  better. 

There  were  good  readers  among  the  chorus  and 
enough  progress  was  made  even  with  one  rehear- 
sal to  justify  the  selection  and  the  work  came  on 
week  by  week  so  well  that  at  the  performance  in 
April  there  was  much  enthusiasm  and  satisfaction 
expressed  and  a  second  concert  was  almost  immedi- 
ately arranged  for.  New  members  were  recruited 
from  among  the  summer  visitors  in  the  town  and  the 
second  performance  proved  far  better  than  the  first. 

Connecticut  is  my  native  soil  and  it  has  been  a 
great  delight  for  me  to  conduct  a  chorus  within  its 
borders.  In  Stonington  I  am  the  recipient  of  a  hos- 
pitality like  that  I  have  enjoyed  so  long  at  Peace 
Dale,  and  the  labor,  though  strenuous  as  it  ever  is 
with  a  new  chorus,  is  lightened  by  the  friendly  in- 
terest I  read  in  every  face  and  by  the  successful  re- 
sults achieved.  I  bespeak  long  life  and  success  for 
the  youngest  of  my  family,  the  Stonington  Chorus. 

A  former  pupil  of  mine,  Mr.  Gustav  Saacke,  made 
so  marked  a  success  not  only  as  a  concert  and  church 
singer  but  also  as  conductor  of  the  Einklang  German 
singing  society  of  Providence  that  I  feel  this  book 
would  be  incomplete  without  mention  of  him.  Mr. 
Saacke  was  advised  to  study  with  me  by  another 
German  music  master,  Carl  Peiler,  who  had  come  to 
Providence  from  Boston  to  take  charge  of  a  singing 
club  here.  Mr.  Saacke  from  the  outset  showed  great 
interest  and  assiduity,  and  having  a  fine  basso  can- 
tante  voice  he  rapidly  attained  an  eminence  that  he 
held  for  many  years. 

Poor  Carl  Peiler!  How  well  I  remember  him,  too, 


154  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

with  his  courtly  old-fashioned  German  manners. 
Erudite  and  strict,  he  would  brook  no  half-way  meas- 
ures. He  used,  I  believe,  to  love  to  play  my  accom- 
paniments, which  he  often  did  as  opportunity  of- 
fered, his  room  for  teaching  being  nearly  adjacent 
to  mine.  This  was  at  the  time  I  had  begun  to  com- 
pose songs  and  various  other  pieces,  and  I  used  often 
to  carry  the  piece  as  soon  as  finished  to  Mr.  Peiler, 
as  I  valued  his  opinion.  He  usually  would  take  it  and 
after  looking  it  through  hand  it  back  with  an— 
"Umph,  pretty  good,  but  not  original."  "Well, 
is  it  correctly  written?  That's  what  I  want  your 
opinion  on."  "Yes,  'twill  do  but — if  I  could  write  as 
good  melody  as  you  I'd  write  d — d  sight  better 
music!"  This  would  satisfy  me  and  I  would  laugh- 
ingly retire. 

He  came  rushing  into  my  room  one  day,  crying: 
"Come,  come  with  me,  I  want  you  to  hear  a  waltz 
that  I  have  written."  He  sat  down  at  his  piano  and 
began  to  play  a  strangely  familiar  melody  in  waltz 
tempo.  I  could  not  at  first  place  it  but  finally  I 
exclaimed:  "Pretty  good,  but  not  original!"  "What's 
that,  not  original!  Why  not?"  "Play  it  again  and 
I'll  show  you,"  I  said.  He  began  and  I  began — to 
sing  the  melody  with  him — the  melody  of  the  Prize 
Song  from  "Meistersinger."  He  closed  the  piano 
with  a  bang  and  I  never  heard  him  remark  again 
upon  my  lack  of  originality. 

These  records  would  be  incomplete  without  the 
mention  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hezekiah  Martin.  Mrs.  Mar- 
tin was  called  for  many  years  "the  singers'  friend" 
by  a  host  of  artists,  many  of  whom  have  enjoyed  the 
hospitality  of  her  home  in  Providence.  This  home  has 


ELIZA  H.  MARTIN 
'The    Singers'   Friend' 


VARIED  MEMORIES  155 

also  been  my  home  for  many,  many  years,  a  home 
where  I  have  been  truly  "at  home"  and  the  recipient 
of  every  attention  possible  conducive  to  my  health 
and  happiness  from  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin.  She 
bears  yet  another  honorable  name  given  her  by  a 
former  President  of  the  Arion  Club,  Mr.  H.  N. 
Campbell,  who  calls  her  the  "Mother  of  the  Arion 
Club." 

To  see  the  members  of  the  club  gather  about  her 
when  she  pays  it  a  visit  as  she  often  does  at 
rehearsal,  one  would  say  that  a  name  was  never 
more  fittingly  bestowed,  every  one  there  showing 
great  love  and  respect  for  her.  She  has  also  been 
for  years  one  of  the  very  best  workers  for  the  materi- 
al good  of  the  club,  having  her  own  circle  of  friends 
and  subscribers  who  would  wait  for  a  visit  from  her 
to  give  their  subscription.  The  late  Clara  Louise 
Kellogg,  an  almost  life-long  friend  of  Mrs.  Martin, 
has  devoted  several  pages  of  her  "Memories  of  an 
American  Prima  Donna"  to  an  account  of  her  meet- 
ing and  subsequent  friendship  with  Mrs.  Martin,  and 
I  can  do  no  better  in  recording  my  own  estimate  of 
the  latter  than  to  quote  the  following  from  the  close 
of  Miss  Kellogg's  account: 

"Indeed  I  hardly  know  how  to  find  words  with 
which  to  speak  of  Mrs.  Martin,  for  I  think  her  such 
a  wonderful  person:  I  respect  and  care  for  her  so 
much  that  I  find  myself  dumb  when  I  try  to  pay  her 
a  tribute.  She  is  a  living  monument  of  what  a 
woman  can  do  with  herself  unaided  save  by  the 
force  and  aspiration  that  is  in  her." 

This  is  a  sincere  tribute  from  one  who  knew  Mrs. 
Martin  as  no  other  friend  ever  knew  her,  and  one  in 
which  I  am  proud  to  join. 


156  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

A  week  or  two  after  Campanini,  the  great  tenor, 
had  appeared  with  me  at  one  of  the  Arion  concerts 
in  Providence,  and  had  objected  to  singing  "a  secon' 
number,"  as  related  in  Chapter  VII,  I  attended  one 
evening  at  the  Hollis  Street  Theatre  in  Boston  a  per- 
•  formance  of  "The  Professor"  to  hear  the  English 
actor  Willard,  then  playing  there.  As  I  came  down 
the  aisle  during  an  intermission  I  met  an  acquaint- 
ance, Montgomery  Sears,  an  intimate  friend  of 
S.  B.  Whitney,  the  Boston  organist.  Another  friend 
of  Whitney's,  James  Chapman  of  Philadelphia,  had 
been  studying  with  me  in  Providence  with  such  good 
results  that  Mr.  Sears,  at  the  advice  of  Mr.  Whitney, 
had  also  begun  to  study.  Mr.  Sears  accosted  me  say- 
ing :  "Chapman  is  in  town  and  he  wants  to  see  you : 
he  and  Whitney  are  at  the  Parker  House,  why  don't 
you  go  there  to  see  them?"  "O,  no,  I  must  return  to 
Providence  to-night."  "This  play  is  short,"  he  said ; 
"you'll  have  plenty  of  time  to  go  there  and  yet 
catch  your  train."  So  after  the  play,  having  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  or  so,  I  went  to  the  Parker 
House.  As  I  entered  the  lobby  I  saw  Whitney  and 
Chapman  at  the  farther  end,  and  as  I  approached 
I  saw  that  Campanini  was  with  them.  Whitney  sud- 
denly turned  and,  seeing  me,  he  and  Chapman  came 
toward  me.  Observing  that  Campanini  did  not  fol- 
low them,  Whitney  called  to  him:  "Come;  here's 
some  one  we  want  you  to  know."  Campanini  gave 
one  glance  and  turning  on  his  heel  exclaimed :  "Oh, 
yes,  oh,  yes.  I  know  him  very  well!"  I  explained  the 
matter  as  best  I  could,  finally  leaving  them  with 
Campanini,  who  possibly  gave  them  his  version  of 
the  affair. 


VARIED  MEMORIES  157 

George  W.  Dover,  who  a  few  years  since  enjoyed 
a  local  reputation  as  one  of  the  most  satisfactory  of 
singers,  came  to  Providence  from  somewhere  "out 
west"  when  a  young  man.  My  acquaintance  with 
him  began  in  a  most  unusual  way. 

Once  after  a  service  in  Grace  Church,  when  I  had 
sung  the  tenor  solo  in  Barnby's  well  known  anthem 
"King  All  Glorious,"  there  came  rushing  up  into  the 
choir  loft  a  stripling  who,  pushing  his  way  to  me, 
exclaimed  wildly:  "Can  you  teach  me  to  sing  like 
that?"  I  looked  at  him  curiously.  "Can  you  sing  at 
all?"  "Yes,  a  little."  "Come  to  my  studio  to-morrow 
and  I'll  hear  you."  He  came  and  I  found  that  he  had 
a  sweet  but  very  light  tenor  voice,  that  he  could  read 
well  at  sight  and  that  he  seemed  to  be  unusually 
musical.  We  began  lessons  but  as  he  seemed  un- 
interested I  think  that  I  advised  him  to  give  them 
up  till  he  could  settle  down  to  them  more  serious- 
ly. At  any  rate  after  he  had  married  he  called 
with  his  bride  at  my  house  and  said  he  would  study 
faithfully.  I  asked  him  to  sing.  He  began  but  failed 
to  carry  the  song  through.  I  said  I  was  sorry  I  had 
ever  told  him  anything  about  singing  for,  I  added, 
"You've  lost  what  you  had  and  you  haven't  got 
what  I  could  and  can  give  you  and  it  would  have 
been  better  had  you  sung  in  your  old  way,  which 
was  at  least  sweet  and  reliable." 

"I  believe  in  you,"  said  he,  "and  if  you  will  only 
let  me  try  again  I'll  prove  to  you  that  I  can  sing  as 
you  want  me  to."  He  began  again  and  in  a  few 
months  became  a  singer  of  beautiful  voice,  with 
great  range,  power  and  fine  quality.  He  filled  for 
several  years  two  of  the  most  important  positions  in 
Providence,  that  of  tenor  soloist  at  Grace  Church 


158  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

and  at  the  Central  Congregational  Church.  He  was 
an  inventive  genius  and  through  his  inventions  for 
jewellers  he  made  a  fortune  and  became  a  power 
in  his  line  of  business,  subordinating  his  music  but 
never  losing  his  love  for  it,  though  his  voice  for  lack 
of  use  did  not  latterly  respond  to  his  artistic  wishes. 

Berrick  Schloss,  (Van  Norden)  who  was  selected, 
soon  after  he  went  to  New  York  from  Providence, 
to  accompany  Emma  Calve  on  her  last  American 
tour,  was  a  pupil  of  mine  for  about  three  years. 

I  well  remember  that  at  the  close  of  his  first  les- 
son, as  he  was  about  to  leave  the  studio,  he  said: 
"Oh,  I  forgot  to  say  that  they  want  me  to  take  the 
first  tenor  in  the  Brown  Glee  Club  Quartette." 

I  advised  him  not  to  undertake  it  at  that  state  of 
his  studies.  "But,"  he  said,  "I  think  that  I  shall 
have  to,  for  they  seem  to  have  no  one  else."  When 
he  came  for  his  second  lesson  he  had  grasped  and 
assimilated  so  well  the  ideas  of  that  special  tone 
production  about  which  much  is  told  in  Chapter  XII, 
that  the  result  was  immediate  and  remarkable.  I 
had  forgotten  what  he  had  said  about  singing  a  first 
tenor  till  one  day  on  College  Hill  I  met  Howard 
White,  the  leader  of  the  Glee  Club. 

"Hello,  Jordan,"  said  he.  "What  have  you  been 
doing  to  'Ben'  Schloss's  voice?"  "Helping  it,  I 
think;  why?"  "Helping!  I  should  say  so.  Why,  a 
few  weeks  ago  he  couldn't  touch  a  first  tenor  part, 
and  now  he  can  sing  as  high  as  you  please  and  he 
never  tires." 

After  the  Calve  tour,  Mr.  Schloss  became  widely 
known  as  an  excellent  concert  singer,  appearing 
with  success  at  many  festivals.  His  father's  business, 


BERRICK  SCHLOSS   (VON  NORDEN) 


VARIED  MEMORIES  159 

however,  demanded  the  son's  assistance  and  he  re- 
linquished his  professional  activities,  only  reserving 
his  leadership  of  the  University  Glee  Club  and  that 
of  an  excellent  quartette  church  choir  in  Providence. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

MY  HORSES 

A  boon  companion  tried  and  true  was  Ben. 
Oh,  would  that  I  might  find  his  like  again! 

BEN  was  one  of  the  eleven  horses  I  had  at  one 
time  on  our  farm  near  Willimantic.  His  dam 
was  a  fine  road  mare  that  I  bought  when  she  was 
six  years  old  and  kept  at  the  farm  till  age  carried 
her  off.  His  sire,  Brownie,  was  a  thoroughbred  Ken- 
tucky stallion,  and  broken  to  saddle. 

He  had  been  brought  to  Providence  by  the  person 
of  whom  I  purchased  him.  His  color  was  brown  and 
he  was  as  handsome  as  a  picture,  as  docile  as  a  lamb, 
and  I,  ever  on  the  alert  for  handsome  horses,  could 
not  resist  the  opportunity  offered  me,  so  he  became 
my  property  and  I  took  him  finally  to  the  farm. 

Besides  Ben,  there  were  two  fillies,  Jess  and  Liza, 
his  half-sisters.  Both  were  in  due  time  broken  for 
carriage  service  and  Liza  for  saddle  as  well.  Ben, 
too,  was  equally  fine  in  carriage  or  under  saddle 
and  I  was  never  at  a  loss  for  recreation  when  at 
the  farm.  The  other  horses  were  excellent,  but 
these  three  became  my  special  joy,  and  Ben  was  by 
all  odds  the  favorite. 

When  he  was  but  a  mere  colt  and  not  half  grown 
I  used  to  get  astride  him  every  time  I  visited  the 
farm,  sometimes  in  the  winter  all  cumbered  with 

160 


A  SUNNY  CORNER  OF  THE  OLD  FARMHOUSE 

NEAR  WILLIMANTIC 
THE  AUTHOR'S  FAVORITE  HORSE  BEN 


MY  HORSES  161 

a  heavy  fur-lined  overcoat  and  thus  enveloped  I 
would  mount  him.  However,  nothing  could  "phaze" 
him  and  to  break  him  was  simply  to  put  on  harness 
or  saddle  and  start  off  with  him.  The  only  time  that 
he  ever  gave  me  any  trouble  was  once  or  twice  when 
I  at  first  saddled  him  for  a  trip  to  Willimantic. 

The  road  led  by  an  upland  meadow  through  a 
piece  of  young  woods  where  Ben  would,  on  reach- 
ing a  certain  spot,  try  to  turn  around  and  I  kept  him 
turning.  Round  and  round  we  went  till  I  suppose 
he  lost  his  bearings,  for  when  I  thought  it  time,  I'd 
start  him  in  the  right  direction,  when  off  he'd  go  at 
a  lively  canter,  and  at  about  the  third  trip  he  seemed 
to  realize  that  his  little  trick  was  of  no  avail  and  I 
had  no  further  trouble  with  him.  When  he  was 
about  four  years  old  I  brought  him  to  Providence. 
Among  the  many  tricks  that  had  been  taught  him 
was  that  of  rearing  at  a  certain  touch  of  the  heel 
and  prancing  excitedly,  and  with  much  show  as  long 
as  he  was  pressed  by  the  heel.  I  lived  at  that  time 
on  Broadway  in  Providence,  which  street  rises  on  a 
gradual  incline  from  its  foot  through  nearly  its 
whole  length,  at  least  a  mile.  I  would  start  near 
the  foot  and  he  would  spring  and  prance  along  the 
street  in  such  a  manner  that  I  have  often  seen  pedes- 
trians take  refuge  on  steps  and  in  doorways  till  we 
had  pranced  by  and  usually  after  such  an  exhibition 
some  one  who  had  seen  us  would  stop  me  on  the 
street  or  call  at  my  studio  begging  me  not  to  ride 
such  a  dangerous  animal.  "He'll  surely  throw  you 
and  perhaps  kill  you,"  they  would  say. 

Several  times  a  certain  Italian,  Count  L.,  offered  to 
buy  him.  "You  shouldn't  ride  a  horse  like  that,  he's 
too  much  for  you;  sell  him  to  me."  "You  haven't 


162  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

money  enough  to  buy  him,"  I  replied;  and  he  soon 
found  that  his  entreaties  were  of  no  avail. 

One  morning  I  came  down  town  with  Ben  and  in 
crossing  Exchange  Place  to  go  on  the  "East  Side"  for 
a  jaunt,  Ben  slipped  on  the  wet  pavement  as  he  was 
ambling  slowly  along  and  his  right  hind  leg  going  in- 
side and  under  caused  him  to  tilt  backward  on  that 
side  and  I  slipped  off,  injuring  my  elbow,  on  which  I 
landed,  and  breaking  my  glasses,  which  fell  off.  Ben 
trotted  off  down  the  street  and  I,  picking  myself  up, 
walked  across  the  mall,  exceedingly  worried  as  to 
what  would  become  of  him  for  he  had  been  in  the 
city  only  a  few  days  and  was  entirely  unused  to  trol- 
ley cars.  I  could  vaguely  see  him  as  he  stopped  (evi- 
dently missing  me  from  his  back).  He  looked  around 
and  began  to  move  towards  me,  where  I  was  waiting 
some  seventy-five  or  more  yards  away.  Avoiding  the 
trolleys,  he  came  to  me  and  tucked  his  nose  into  my 
hand. 

Ben  would  tell  any  one  his  age  (with  me  on  his 
back)  by  striking  out  with  his  right  forward  foot.  He 
was  very  high-spirited,  but  gentle  and  very  play- 
ful. I  used  often  to  go  into  his  stall  when  at  home  and 
if  I  found  him  lyin'g  down  I  would  sit  on  his  haunch 
and  give  him  a  slap  or  two,  when  he  would  turn  his 
head  and  reach  for  the  slouched  hat  I  used  to  wear 
in  the  barn,  pull  it  off  and  play  with  it  by  tossing  it 
up  and  down  as  he  held  it  between  his  lips. 

He  was  always  playing  with  his  sisters  Jess  or 
Liza,  whenever  they  were  hitched  up  together,  often- 
times evidently  much  to  their  annoyance  for  they 
always  attended  to  the  business  in  hand.  He  would 
do  his  full  share  of  the  work,  however,  with  a  disposi- 
tion to  play  at  the  same  time. 

One  summer  I  took  a  carriage  trip  through  the 
Connecticut  Valley,  going  from  Willimantic  by  way 


MY  HORSES  163 

of  Hartford.  At  that  time  the  country  roads  were 
fairly  good  but  the  way  was  hilly  and  as  we  came 
to  a  long  hill  I  let  the  reins  lie  loosely  and  was  en- 
gaged in  conversation  with  the  friend  who  was  with 
me  when  coming  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  where  there 
was  a  junction  of  two  roads,  we  felt  the  carriage 
stop  suddenly  and  looked  up  just  in  time  to  see  Ben 
give  a  little  hop  straight  up  from  behind,  at  the  same 
time  turning  his  head  to  look  at  us  as  if  to  say, 
"Well,  kindly  tell  us  which  road  to  take."  It  was  all 
so  comical  that  our  conversation  came  to  a  sudden 
close,  and  we  thereafter  paid  more  attention  to  our 
noble  steeds. 

Another  summer  I  took  a  trip  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Martin,  my  friends,  to  Lisbon,  N.  H.,  where  I  had 
been  the  winter  before  to  conduct  a  musical  "con- 
vention." The  day  before  we  were  to  start  there 
came  on  a  hot  spell  and  we  waited  two  or  three  days 
for  it  to  change,  but  it  held  on  and  on,  day  after  day, 
till  finally  I  decided  to  start,  as  I  felt  certain  that 
every  next  day  the  weather  would  be  cooler. 

I  took  for  this  trip  Jess  and  Ben,  who  were  hitched 
to  a  large  and  heavy  double  carriage.  The  weather 
continued  hot  and  ere  we  reached  Worcester  I  found 
that  Jess  had  a  bad  blister  on  one  of  her  shoulders. 
I  procured  a  new  collar  and  exercised  all  possible 
care,  but  the  heat  still  continued  and  by  the  time  we 
had  reached  our  destination  the  mare's  shoulder  was 
in  such  a  frightful  condition  that  I  said,  as  we  put  her 
in  her  stable,  "There  you  are  at  last  and  there  you'll 
stay  till  that  shoulder  is  well." 

We  remained  there  about  ten  days  and  the  shoul- 
der had  only  begun  to  heal  when  I  felt  that  we  must 
start  for  home  and  bought  another  horse  to  take  the 
place  of  Jess  by  the  side  of  Ben,  and  so,  leading  Jess 


164  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

behind  the  carriage,  we  started  for  home.  Ben  of  the 
lamb-like  disposition  suddenly  became  as  vicious  ap- 
parently as  the  most  vicious  mule.  He  would  kick 
and  bite  at  the  new  horse,  then  turn  and  whinny  for 
Jess,  who  would  answer  him  in  kind — in  truth,  the 
most  fantastic  two-part  chorus,  I  believe,  that  ever 
required  the  services  of  a  conductor,  although  the 
baton  in  this  instance  was  a  whip.  When  finally  we 
reached  home  Ben  was  but  the  skeleton  of  a  horse, 
for  we  could  not  get  him  to  walk  one  step  of  the 
way.  The  other  horse  was  soon  tired  out  and  Ben 
pulled  him  along  up  hill  and  down  with  us  three  in 
the  heavy  carriage,  and  no  wonder  that  he  became 
like  a  skeleton.  No  sooner  however  had  we  taken 
the  new  horse  from  his  side  than  he  was  again  him- 
self, gentle  and  docile,  and  in  a  week  or  two  he  was 
as  plump  and  handsome  as  ever  before. 

One  other  story  and  I  am  done  with  this  (to  me  at 
least)  interesting  chapter. 

When  driving  into  town  (Willimantic)  one  after- 
noon with  my  sister,  I  observed  on  the  little  hill  at  the 
top  of  a  lane  which  led  down  abruptly  into  the  street 
on  which  we  were  driving,  a  boy  wobbling  about 
on  a  bicycle.  Just"  as  we  had  got  abreast  of  the  lane 
he  lost,  all  control  of  the  machine,  and  down  he  came 
like  an  arrow.  It  was  all  so  sudden  that  I  had  no 
time  to  get  out  of  the  way,  and  boy,  bicycle  and 
all  came  pell-mell  against  the  flank  of  Ben  as  he  was 
trotting  along.  I  expected  that  there  would  be  a  run- 
away with  all  its  possible  consequences  but  the  in- 
stant Ben  was  struck  he  stopped  short  and  looked 
around  as  if  to  say,  "What's  all  this  about?"  and 
then  stood  quietly  till  the  boy  had  picked  himself 
and  his  wheel  out  of  the  way,  when  we  went  on  as 
though  nothing  had  happened. 


MY  HORSES  165 

All  these  proofs  of  his  intelligence  had  so  en- 
deared him  to  me  and  to  every  one  who  saw  him 
that  when  he  was  killed  accidentally  by  striking  his 
head  against  a  low-hanging  bough  of  an  apple  tree 
as  he  was  running  about  the  stable  yard  one  day, 
I  felt  that  I  had  lost  one  of  my  best  friends.  I  had 
just  before  this  disposed  of  the  farm  and  all  of  the 
horses  excepting  Ben  and  Liza. 

After  this  accident  I  lost  my  interest  in  driving, 
and  soon  after  I  disposed  of  Liza  to  a  kind  master, 
since  when  I  have  never  owned  a  horse.  However, 
we  have  read  and  some  of  us  have  sung  of  "Elijah," 
that,  "in  a  fiery  chariot,  with  fiery,  fiery  horses,  he 
went  by  a  whirlwind  to  heaven."  If  so,  then  the 
horses  must  have  remained  there,  for  "heaven  is  a 
bourne  from  whence  no  traveller  e'er  returns,"  and 
if  Elijah's  horses  are  there,  then  why  not  others? 
Indeed,  I  am  Swedenborgian  enough  to  imagine — 
if  happily  I  ever  attain  to  that  blest  abode  called 
heaven — that  I  may  find  there  perhaps,  in  some 
Elysian  field,  my  Ben. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
A   TRIBUTE   TO   THE    ORCHESTRA 

I  CANNOT  CLOSE  these  chapters  of  record  and 
reminiscence  without  mention  of  the  two  orches- 
tras that  have  played  so  prominent  a  part  in  nearly 
all  the  Arion  concerts  since  we  began  to  give  ora- 
torios, the  first  of  which  was  Mendelssohn's  "Eli- 
jah." 

The  Boston  Festival  Orchestra  lent  its  aid  on  that 
occasion  as  at  many  subsequent  concerts  and  always 
to  our  complete  satisfaction.  The  Boston  Symphony 
Orchestra  was  also  often  employed  with  like  happy 
results  and  it  is  a  source  of  deep  gratification  for  me 
to  remember  the  spirit  of  good-fellowship  that  al- 
ways existed  between  the  members  of  the  orchestra 
and  myself. 

Our  concerts  would  have  been  shorn  of  much  of 
their  interest  and  effect  without  these  powerful  aids 
to  success  and  I  hereby  tender  my  thanks  and  ap- 
preciation to  all  who  have  ever  been  associated  with 
me  in  such  a  connection. 

We  have  also  occasionally  had  recourse  to  local 
orchestras  and  usually  with  satisfactory  results. 

At  the  time  of  the  production  of  my  opera  "Rip 
Van  Winkle,"  spoken  of  in  a  previous  chapter,  a 
local  orchestra,  reinforced  by  some  New  York  mu- 
sicians was  employed,  and  at  many  local  perform- 

166 


A   TRIBUTE   TO   THE    ORCHESTRA  167 

ances  of  other  operas,  operettas  and  musical  playlets 
of  mine,  local  musicians  have  aided.  These  were,  be- 
sides "Rip  Van  Winkle,"  a  one-act  opera  "As  Once 
of  Old,"  played  for  a  week  at  Keith's  Theatre,  as 
was  also  a  nautical  piece  with  music,  "The  Bucca- 
neers." "Love  and  War,"  a  one-act  opera,  was 
played  after  these  at  the  Empire  Theatre. 

Three  one-act  pieces  with  music,  "Princess  of 
the  Blood,"  "Star  of  the  Sea"  and  "An  Eventful  Hol- 
iday," were  played  at  the  Talma  Theatre.  Three 
others,  "A  Leap-year  Furlough,"  "Her  Crown  of 
Glory"  and  "The  Rivals,"  have  been  played  in  Prov- 
idence, Newport,  Fall  River,  Bristol,  North  Attle- 
boro,  Mass.,  Dudley,  Mass.,  Oak  Bluffs,  Mass.,  Ston- 
ington,  Conn.,  Westerly  and  Narragansett  Pier.  Re- 
cently at  Arctic,  R.  I.,  "A  Leap-year  Furlough," 
"Star  of  the  Sea"  and  "The  Rivals"  were  played  at 
the  Odeon  Theatre.  At  some  of  these  performances 
an  orchestra  assisted  and  at  others  the  pieces  were 

given  with  piano  accompaniment. 

***** 

I  have  always  appreciated  the  interest  and  help- 
fulness shown  me  by  the  various  concert  meisters 
associated  with  the  two  orchestras  particularly  men- 
tioned above.  These  were  Emil  Mollenhauer  and 
John  W.  Crowley  of  the  Boston  Festival  Orchestra 
and  William  Krafft  of  the  Boston  Symphony  Orches- 
tra. There  were  others  on  various  occasions  but 
these  three  gentlemen  were  usually  at  the  first  desk 
and  I  am  proud  to  inscribe  their  names  here  for  in 
no  better  way  can  I  give  my  book  the  lustreful  finish 
I  desire  for  it. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

VERSES 

THE  FOLLOWING  verses  of  mine  are  printed  here 
"as  a  matter  of  record,"  though  an  excuse  that 
has  to  be  stretched  so  far  as  to  include  them  in  this 
volume  may  seem  to  be  venturesome.  Yet  I  feel  that  I 
must  yield  to  the  wishes  of  some  of  my  friends  and 
give  them  this  final  and  permanent  form : 

THE  PRESIDENT  PASSED  BY 

From  the  Providence  Journal  Aug.   25,  1892. 
(President  Roosevelt  visited  Providence  on   Saturday,  Aug. 
23,  1892.) 

The  President  passed  by 

In  splendid  state, 

With  smiling  face 

And  mien  benignant. 

The  applauding  crowd 

On  either  side  the  street, 

A  solid  living  mass, 

Lined  curb  and  pavement 

And  greeting  gave  with  loud  acclaim. 

I,  one  amid  the  jostling  throng, 
Caught  scarce  a  glimpse  of  him 
As  on  he  rode  along  the  city  street, 
And,  turning  from  the  crowd, 
My  eye  chanced  on  a  beggar. 

168 


VERSES  169 

Old,  wrinkled,  worn  and  tanned, 
He  crouched  there  on  the  pavement, 
And  turned  with  one  enfeebled  hand 
A  droning  wheezy  organ. 
The  other  was  outstreched  for  alms. 

He  had  not  seen  the  President, 

For  crouching  thus 

The  throng  had  hidden  him. 

Yet  on  he  turned 

Unmoved,  immovable, 

And  I  fell  musing 

That  a  moment's  space 

Had  brought  me  face  to  face 

With  these  two  men, 

The  highest  and  the  lowest 

In  the  land. 

What  brought  each  to  his  station? 

The  talents  of  the  one — 

The  help  of  friends 

Or  more  belike 

His  own  unaided  worth : 

The  other — misfortune's  victim, 

A  prey  to  misery, 

The  sport  of  fate, 

What  brought  him  low? 

God  knows!  But  this  my  prayer 

That  He  may  put  into  the  hearts 

Of  those  above  us 

A  pitying  grace 

That  they  may  use  their  influence  and  power 

To  mitigate  in  some  degree 


170          THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

The  wretchedness  of  such  as  these 
Who  sit  and  wait 
For  comfort  sweet 
That  rarely  comes. 

Providence,  Aug.  24,  1892. 


A  RHAPSODY 

"Where    leads   the   Fount   of   life   the    way 
Mayst  thou   undoubting  follow." 

(Lines  suggested  by  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  perform- 
ances of  the  Arion  Club,  March  1  and  2,  1905.) 

O  Music,  Poesy  divine;  thou  glorious  pair 

Born  each  for  the  other ; 

How,  late,  the  wondrous  spell 

Thou  weavest  for  the  hearts  and  minds  of  men 

Upon  us  here  hath  fallen. 

And  ye  departed  ones,  whose  heavenly  gifts  and 

skill 
Wrought  out  those  noble  themes  the  which  we 

sang — 

From  off  the  heights  of  thy  serene  enjoyment 
Dost  sometimes  earthward  bend  a  listening  ear; 
And  didst  not  catch  of  ours  one  faintest  sound 
Speeding  as  rivulet  to  river; 
To  bend  with  those  exalted  strains 
Now,  to  thee,  made  familiar? 

For  thus  it  seemed,  as  in  an  ecstasy  of  song, 

With  hearts  aglow  and  voices  freshly  tuned, 

The  soul  was  wafted  toward  the  spheres  celestial. 


VERSES  171 

O  memories  most  precious  of  music  old  yet  new — 
Till  we  are  called  from  this  to  yonder  heavenly 

choir, 

May  thy  sweet  influence  prevail  and  day  by  day 
Gladden  our  toil,  grim  disappointment's  bitterness 

assuage, 

Sorrow  and  pain  allay  or  what  of  ills  may  us  betide, 
And  bring  to  all  a  blessing. 

Providence,  March  4,  1905. 


LILAC  BLOSSOMS 
When  I  am  gone  from  thee, 
With  lilac  blossoms  cover  me; 
Of  them  make  thou  the  pall 
And  spread  it  over  all. 
Let  no  weak  tears  be  shed 
By  those  who  stand  above  my  head- 
What,  tears  for  one  set  free? 
Though  far  from  thee. 

Nor  in  that  last  farewell 

Let  trumpet  tone  or  requiem  swell 

Disturb  me,  where  at  rest 

I  lie,  all  unoppressed; 

The  blossoms  of  my  choice 

Hath  each  its  own  and  gentle  voice. 

Let  then,  the  lilacs  tell 

My  last  farewell — 

Beloved,  let  the  lilacs  tell 

My  fond  farewell. 


172  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

CARUSO 

(From  a  correspondent's  letter  to  the  Hartford, 
Conn.,  Courant  of  May  22,  1921.) 

"It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  another  man  in  New  Eng- 
land who  can  show  what  is  prized  just  now  by  Dr. 
Jules  Jordan,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  a  native  of  Willi- 
mantic — that  is,  a  cordial  letter  from  Caruso,  re- 
ceived during  the  convalescence  of  the  famous  tenor. 
Dr.  Jordan  wrote  some  verses  which  he  sent  the 
singer  and  a  few  days  later  he  received  a  letter  of 
thanks,  in  which  Caruso  referred  to  the  verses  as  a 
'beautiful  poem/  Here  are  the  lines  which  pleased 
the  noted  patient:" 

Live  on,  live  on! 

And  should  God  will,  sing  on! 

But  know  that  thou'st  already  made 

Within  this  nation's  heart  of  hearts 

A  place  wherein  thy  fame 

Shall  rest  secure,  inviolate. 

And  now  that  fate's  decree 

Has  brought  a  respite  for  thy  singing 

We  fain  would  come  to  where  thou  art. 

We,  singers,  devotees  of  song, 

Aye!  thousands  strong — 

Would  come  and  crown  thee  there 

With  laurel, 

That  so  well  befits  thy  brow : 

For  this,  that  thou  hast  brought  to  us 

Full-measured  joy — 

All  by  the  magic  of  thy  voice 

And  of  thy  singing. 


^s 


w5©^ 


^ 


TELEPHONE  CALL.  1226  STUYVESANT 
CABLE  ADDRESS.  "LABIATED,"  NEW  YORK 


NEW  YORK, 


March  4th-1909. 


My  dear  Mr.   Jordan:- 

I  have  received  your  letter  with  enclosure'    ,   and 

thank  you  exceedingly.   I  altrays   considered  you  a  great  musician,  but 
never  WRS   aware  of  your  gift's  as   a  poet.   It  is  a  beautiful  thought  which 
prompted,      and  am  sure  Elman  vill   appreciate   it  immensely. 

Elman  left  for  the  'vest  yesterday,   on  his  return  on  Sunday 
the  14th,   I   shall  hand  him  your   letter. 
Thanking  you  again 

Yours  very  truly, 


TWO  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


VERSES  173 

Live  on,  live  on ! 

And  should  God  will,  sing  on! 

But  know  that  thou'st  already  made 

Within  this  nation's  heart  of  hearts, 

A  place  wherein  thy  fame 

Shall  rest  secure, 

Inviolate  forever. 


HERE  ON  THE  BRAE 

Here  on  the  brae  all  heather-white, 
Here  do  I  wait  sae  weary 
Watching  alone  since  fell  the  night, 
Waiting  for  you,  my  dearie. 
Why  are  ye  late?   I  am  sae  weary! 
Am  I  forsaken  quite? 
"Tis  moonrise  again,  I'm  lonely  ye  ken, 
Lonely  for  you,  my  dearie. 

Cold  is  the  night,  I've  come  frae  far, 

Bleak  is  the  wind  an'  dreary. 

Yon  is  her  light,  a  guiding  star 

Leading  me  tae  my  dearie. 

Come  then,  Oh  come,  I  am  sae  weary, 

Star  of  my  life  you  are. 

I'm  lonely  ye  ken,  Oh  come  once  again, 

Come  tae  your  own,  my  dearie. 

I  HEARD  YE  SINGIN' 

Ah!  did  ye  ken  as  ken  ye  ought 
How  much  I  lo'e  ye,  laddie  dear, 
Ye'd  ne'er  reproach  me  wi'  a  thought 
Nor  haud  tae  ony  fear. 


174          THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

An'  gin  ye're  lonely — what  o'  me! 
But  oh,  I'm  sorry  gin  ye're  sad, 
Sae,  laddie  dear,  I'll  come  tae  ye 
Gin  that  wull  make  ye  glad. 

I  heard  ye  singin',  heard  ye  ca'; 
Anither  laddie  heard  ye  tae 
But  when  I  tellt  him  "gang  awa" 
He  stayed!    What  could  I  dae? 
But  noo  he's  gane  wi'  angry  face, 
Oh  laddie — see,  I'm  by  your  side 
An'  faulded  in  your  warm  embrace. 
Contented  here  I'll  bide. 


TO  C.  H.  AND  H.  H.  B. 

Par  nobile  sororum. 

I  know  your  goodness  and  your  worth 
Transcendent  and  secure; 
I  know  your  precious  influence 
That  ever  must  endure. 

Such  friends  as  you  when  woes  prevail 
We  know  are  staunch  and  true, 
But  God  was  kind,  I  prayed  for  one 
And  lo!  He  gave  me  two. 

O,  noble  pair! — I  can  no  more, 
For  words  may  not  express 
The  fullness  of  a  grateful  heart 
That  knows  your  kindnesses. 


VERSES  175 


THY  BANNERS,  O  MY  COUNTRY! 

Eastward  in  splendor,  the  sun  at  his  rising 

Doth  mount  in  his  chariot,  to  compass  the  world: 

Then  O  my  country,  methinks  he  rejoices 
To  see  in  their  beauty  thy  banners  unfurled. 

High  in  the  heavens,  the  sun  in  his  glory 

Doth  pause  on  his  journey,  encircling  the  world. 

Then  O  my  country,  his  splendor  redoubles 
To  see  o'er  the  ocean  thy  banners  unfurled. 

Far,  far  above  us,  the  stars  in  their  courses 

Enkindle  their  torches  as  night  floods  the  world. 

Then  O  my  country,  the  stars  sing  together 
And  sing  of  the  stars  on  thy  banners  unfurled. 

August  7,  1918. 


TO  M.  L.  C. 

Come  hither,  Muse,  nor  be  unkind; 

A  name  to  thee  I'd  tell, 
A  name  long  graven  in  my  mind 

And  on  my  heart  as  well. 
Indite  for  her  thy  happiest  lay, 

For  few  with  her  compare, 
A  minstrel  I  who  day  by  day 

Would  sing  it  everywhere. 


176  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

MISCHA  ELMAN 

How  velvet-sweet  thy  tones 
And  then  anon,  what  power, 
As,  leaping  at  the  strings 
Thou  wrestlest  with  thy  mate, 
That  other  music's  god, 
Until  he  yields  thee  of  his  store, 
Aye !  yields  I  say 
And  owns  thee  conqueror. 

The  melody,  how  pure 

As  by  the  magic  of  thy  bow 

A  thing  of  joy,  all  palpable 

It  stands  before  us. 

And  then,  a  torrent  of  bewildering  sounds 

Rich  hued  and  strong 

In  harmonies  fantastic  wrought 

O'erwhelms  the  dazzled  sense. 

Ah  lad,  the  wonder  of  thy  skill 

Surpasses  comprehension 

As  listening  thus,  we  count  us  blest. 

And  yet  more  blest  art  thou 

For  that  great  Power  which  orders  for  our  good 

Hath  so  ordained  this  just  and  wise  decree 

"More  blessed  'tis  to  give  than  to  receive." 

Give,  give !  thy  store  is  inexhaustible. 

Reveal  to  us  once  more  for  our  enraptured  ears 

That  message  of  the  stars,  the  music  of  the  spheres. 


MISCHA  ELMAN 


VERSES  177 

THE  SUMMER  RAIN 

The  rain  with  rush  and  roar 
Tests  window,  roof  and  door 
And  casements  rattle. 
A  legion  from  the  skies 
In  flashing  armor  flies 
To  fiercest  battle. 

Anon — the  blasts  are  o'er, 

Subdued  the  sudden  pour 

To  gentle  patter. 

Agreeable  the  change, 

The  world  would  seem  too  strange 

With  all  that  clatter! 

Come,  stand  beside  me,  look! 
The  place  where  once  a  brook 
Was  wont  to  babble 
Seems  full  of  sprites  and  fays 
Who  turn  a  thousand  ways 
And  gaily  gabble. 

One  elf  with  lance  a-gleam 
Is  hunting  for  the  stream ! 
He's  bent  on  plunder, 
And  raises  such  a  shout 
The  others  crowd  about 
In  moon-eyed  wonder! 

What's  that!    Again  the  sun? 
I  wondered  where  he'd  gone 
In  such  a  hurry; 
His  cloudy  face  affrights 
The  elves  and  water-sprites, 
And  off  they  scurry. 


178          THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

They're  children  of  the  rain, 
Ah  see !  it  falls  again — 
The  sun  half  shining, 
Great  artist  he  and  proud 
To  show  us  through  the  cloud 
Its  rainbow  lining. 

The  elf-bands  disappear, 
They  seem  to  have  no  fear — 
But  rain  will  follow : 
And  that  ere  night  shall  pass 
They,  through  the  meadow  grass, 
May  wade  and  wallow. 

The  sun  peeps  through  the  leaves; 
Each  verdant  mead  receives 
His  mute  caresses. 
As  fades  the  crimson  light, 
Earth  bids  the  sun  good  night 
While  nature  blesses. 

Sing  low  a  lullaby, 
Sing  of  the  summer  rain, 
'Twill  waken  soon 
The  world,  in  tune, 
And  life  is  not  in  vain. 

THE  TWO  FLAGS 

Like  the  flag  that  Barbara  Frietchie  once 

In  her  attic  window  set, 
Another  flag  in  La  Belle  France 

New  fame  and  glory  met. 

'Twas  borne  there  by  a  slender  youth, 

A  son  of  France  was  he, 
Yet  he  had  known  another  home 

Beyond  the  western  sea, 


VERSES  179 

The  home  of  Barbara  Frietchie's  flag 

That  now  aloft  he  bore. 
Proud  of  its  fame,  he  knew  its  worth 

And  loved  it  more  and  more. 

Yet  he  had  heard  the  cry  of  France 

And  straight  to  her  he  came, 
With  foster  brothers  at  his  side, 

A  haughty  foe  to  shame. 

And  when  they  reached  his  native  land, 

The  flag  to  him  they  gave 
And  honored  France  by  hon'ring  him — 

This  lad  so  good  and  brave. 

And  he  was  proud ;  he  knew  the  flag — 

Its  glory  and  its  worth, 
And  prized  it  as  he  prized  the  flag 

Of  the  land  that  gave  him  birth. 

They  marched  away  to  Flanders  Fields, 

To  him  familiar  place, 
Where  poppies  deck  the  meadows  green 

And  blue-bells  interlace. 

But  the  foe  was  there,  and  the  fight  was  on; 

All  day  mid  shot  and  shell 
He  bore  the  flag  uplifted  high, 

Until  at  last  he  fell. 

And  with  him  fell  the  starry  flag : 

It  gathered  like  a  pall 
Upon  the  soldier's  prostrate  form — 

It  seemed  the  end  of  all. 


180          THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

And  night  came  on,  a  summer  night; 

The  cries  and  moaning  cease, 
As  one  by  one  an  angel's  touch 

The  tortured  souls  release. 

She  bears  them  hence.   Another  comes 

With  healing  in  her  wings, 
The  stricken  soldier  feels  their  touch ; 

He  sleeps  and  sleeping  sings. 

O'er  dreamland  seas  he  sails  and  sails 
And  sings  of  his  own  summer  vales. 


SUMMER  MELODY 
(Samuel  Morris  Conant) 

"In  my  own  summer  vales 

Sweet  music  never  fails ; 

The  bees  go  humming  to  each  flow'r, 
The  birds  sing  out  from  leafy  bow'r 
Afar  the  church  bell  trolls  the  hour 

In  my  own  summer  vales. 

"In  my  own  hills  and  vales 

Sweet  melody  prevails. 

The  sun  and  breeze  on  meadows  play 
Soft  airs,  perfumed  in  new-mown  hay, 
While  insects  chirp  a  roundelay 

In  my  own  summer  vales. 


VERSES  181 

"And  when  warm  daylight  pales 

Within  my  hills  and  vales, 

When  moon-beams  steal  across  the  land 
And  slumber  stays  the  player's  hand, 
Then  fire-flies  dance  a  saraband 

In  my  own  summer  vales." 

And  in  the  watches  of  the  night 

So  weary  and  so  long 
There  came  across  from  other  fields — 

Was  it  a  spirit  song? 
The  sleeping  soldier  seemed  to  stir 

There  in  his  lowly  bed 
Among  the  grasses  trampled  now, 

Among  the  poppies  red. 

Hark  the  song  deep  and  clear 
As  now  it  falls  upon  the  ear: 


IN  FLANDERS  FIELDS 
(Col.  John  McCrea) 

"In  Flanders  Fields  the  poppies  grow 
Between  the  crosses  row  on  row 

That  mark  our  place,  and  in  the  sky 
The  larks  still  bravely  singing  fly, 
Scarce  heard  amid  the  guns  below. 

"We  are  the  dead.   Short  days  ago 
We  lived,  felt  dawn,  saw  sunset's  glow, 
Loved  and  were  loved  but  now  we  lie 
In  Flanders  Fields. 


182  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

"Take  up  our  quarrel  with  the  foe ; 

To  you  from  failing  hands  we  throw 
The  torch.  Be  yours  to  hold  it  high : 
If  ye  break  faith  with  us  who  die, 

We  shall  not  sleep  though  poppies  blow 

In  Flanders  Fields." 

And  when  the  dawn  began  to  break 

There  came  a  weeping  maid 
With  falt'ring  step  and  haggard  face 

Alone,  and  all  afraid. 

She  sought  a  flag,  the  flag  of  France, 

Where  she  had  seen  it  fly ; 
Alas !  the  chariot  wheels  of  war 

Had  crushed  it  rolling  by. 

She  gazed  around  with  tim'rous  mien; 

Another  met  her  sight. 
She  knew  it  by  the  stars  and  stripes 

So  beautiful  and  bright. 

She  tried  to  touch  it  rev'rently, 

When  she  beheld  a  face! 
Her  brother's?  Aye,  she  knew  it  well 

By  every  line  of  grace. 

She  threw  the  sheltering  flag  aside ; 

It  caught  upon  a  bough 
And  fluttered  in  the  morning  breeze 

That  fanned  the  sleeper's  brow. 


VERSES  183 

"Alas,  alas !  that  thus  we  meet, 

We  two  so  long  apart! 
And  must  he  die,  dear  God !  So  I 

Will  perish  on  his  heart!" 

'Twas  but  a  moment;  she  had  heard 

That  heart's  reluctant  beat. 
She  raised  her  head  with  flashing  eyes 

As,  springing  to  her  feet, 

She  swift  as  swallow  sped  away 

To  where  a  hidden  spring 
Untroubled  by  the  din  of  war 

Its  song  was  murmuring. 

A  helmet  served  her  for  a  cup. 

She  filled  it  to  the  brim. 
An  angel  then  on  mercy  bent, 

She  hastened  back  to  him. 

She  bathed  his  lips,  she  bathed  his  brow 
And  shudd'ring  stanched  his  wound, 

As  he,  reviving  at  her  touch, 
Bewildered  looked  around. 

He  saw  the  flag,  he  saw  the  maid — 

His  sister?    Aye,  'twas  she; 
But  she  had  fallen  at  his  side, 

Her  head  upon  his  knee. 

He  found  within  his  soldier  kit 

Some  wine,  a  crust  of  bread, 
'Twas  manna  in  the  wilderness 

With  which  these  two  were  fed ! 


184  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

And  when  again  she  oped  her  eyes 

And  looked  into  his  face, 
She  threw  her  arms  about  his  neck 

In  loving  long  embrace. 

He  caught  the  flag  from  off  its  bough 

To  throw  it  'round  her  form : 
She  took  the  kerchief  from  her  neck 

To  keep  her  brother  warm. 

One  fold  of  that  protecting  flag 

From  off  her  shoulders  fell ; 
The  freshening  breezes  lifted  it 

To  cover  him  as  well. 

And  then  the  morning  sun  arose 

To  warm  them  in  its  rays, 
As  came  a  band  victorious 

With  banners  all  ablaze. 

They  found  them  kneeling  on  the  sod, 

These  two  of  whom  we  sing, 
The  battle  flag  around  them  both 

In  sunlight  shimmering 

From  rugged  height  on  which  they  stood— 
Henceforward  hallow'd  ground — 

They  saw  the  bitter  fruits  of  war 
On  every  side  around. 

And  out  beyond,  not  far  away, 
Where  waved  the  grasses  green, 

Were  poppies  white  and  poppies  red 
The  countless  graves  between. 


VERSES  185 

A  cross  and  flag  marked  every  mound 

All  wet  with  tears  of  dew, 
The  flag  of  France,  the  Stars  and  Stripes 

Of  red  and  white  and  blue. 

Rememb'ring  then  the  holy  dead, 

They  breathed  a  prayer  for  them, 
And  bending  low  with  hearts  aglow 

They  sang  this  requiem : 


BRAVEST  AND  BEST 

Sleep  your  last  sleep,  Oh,  Bravest  and  Best, 

Battles  for  you  are  over. 
Martyrs  of  freedom  forever  at  rest, 

Nature's  green  mantle  your  cover. 
Where'er  ye  rest,  anear  or  afar, 
Bravest  and  Best  forever  ye  are, 
Honored  and  blest  forever  your  name, 
Fadeless  your  laurels,  unending  your  fame — 
Here  in  this  place,  our  flags  flying  over 
Bravest  and  Best,  we  uncover. 

Banners  we  bring  as  banners  they  brought 

What  time  ye  fell  when  glory, 
Bending  from  heaven  your  spirit  upcaught, 

Making  immortal  your  story. 
Wrapped  in  the  flag  are  many  asleep, 
Wrapped  in  our  hearts  their  mem'ry  we'll  keep, 
Others  unshrouded  lie  where  they  fell, 
Heroes  departed,  all  hail  and  farewell ! 
Here  in  this  place,  our  flags  flying  over 
Bravest  and  Best,  we  uncover. 


186  THE  HAPPENINGS  OF  A  MUSICAL  LIFE 

All  hail,  all  hail  ye  Stars  and  Stripes! 

All  hail,  ye  flags  of  France ! 
Be  ye  entwined  forevermore 

As  forward  ye  advance. 

Your  peoples,  bound  by  kindred  hopes, 

By  purposes  the  same — 
To  leave  in  life  a  glowing  path, 

In  death  an  honored  name. 


INDEX 


Acorns,    The,    46 

Adelaide,    (song),   63 

Aida,    (opera),  38,  131,  137 

Aide,  Hamilton,  136 

Alexander,  Joseph,   143 

Alexandria  Palace,  63 

Allen,  C.  N.,  18 

Almaviva,  54 

Amateur  Dramatic  Hall,  108 

America,  24,  26,  28,  60,  68 

American   Band,   15 

American  Opera  Company, 
133 

Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  19 

Arctic,  R.  I.,  167 

Arion  Club,  16,  30,  31,  32, 
34,  35,  36,  37,  45,  50,  64, 
80,  86,  89,  90,  91,  92,  93, 
105,  106,  107,  108,  133 

Armstrong,  James,   143 

"As  Once  of  Old,"  (song), 
167 

Ave  Maria,   126,   132 

Bacon,   Mrs.    Helen    Hazard, 

46 

Bacon,  Mrs.  N.  T.,  91 
Baker,  William  C.,  91 
Baldwin,  L.  C.,  91 
Ballou,  Miss  C.  E.,  91 
Baltimore  Times,  140 
Barbara  Frietchie,  (choral 

ballad),   128,   131 
Barker,  Theodore,  149 
Barnabee,  Henry  C.,  113 
Barnby,  J.,  157 
Bartlett,  J.   C.,   51 
Bartlett,    Miss   Florence, 
Beane,  Miss  Susan  C.,  90 
"Beatitudes,   The,"    33,    34 
Beckwith,   Capt.   Isaac,    (an- 
cestor), 9 
Beckwith,   Mrs.    Daniel,    91 


Beckwith,    Susan,    (mother), 

y 

Belot,  Edwina  Hodgkiss,  144 
Ben,    (the    author's   favorite 

horse),  123,  160 
Berlioz,  23,  24,  119,  141 
Binghamton,   N.   Y.,  50 
Binney,  Isabelle  Nichols,  90 
Binney,    Josephine    Angier, 

90 

Blackstone  Hall,   107 
Bois  de  Boulogne,  131 
Boito,    (composer),   118 
Bolton,  Conn.,  11 
Bonner,  Robert,  31,  32 
Boston,   26,   57,   58,   60,   63, 

76,  81,  83,  125,  132 
Boston   Herald,   141 
Bostonians,    The, 
Boston  Journal,  141 
Boston  Music  Hall,  140 
Boston  Oratorio  Society,  26 
Boston     Symphony     Orches- 
tra   122 

Boston  Theatre,  118 
Boston   Transcript,   141 
Bourgeois,  Rev.  J.  R.,  91 
Bowman,  E.  M.,  149 
Boylston    Club,    21,    57 
Bradford,   Henry  C.,   14,   17 
Bristol,  R.  I.,  167 
Brown,  H.  E.,  83 
Brown  University,   64,  65 
Brown    University    Com- 
mencement,  65 
Brown  University  Glee  Club, 

158 
Brownie,     (author's    horse), 

160 

Buck,  Dudley,  42,  85 
Bullock,    Emma    Carpenter, 
90 


187 


190 


INDEX 


Greene,  R.  L,  (old  home- 
stead), 9 

Gcetchen,  (in  "Rip  Van 
Winkle"),  113 

Hall,  Addie,  13 

Hall,  Amos,  13 

"Hallelujah   Chorus,"   120 

Ham,  Dr.  A.  E.,  21 

Hammerstein,    Oscar,   32 

Handel  and  Hayden,  33 

Harris,  Jane,  90 

Harris,   Rev.   George,   92 

Harkins,  Bishop  Matthew,  91 

Harrington's  Opera  House, 
Providence,  117,  118 

Hartford,  Conn.,  12,  16 

Havens,  Mrs.  Charlotte  R., 
(sister),  dedication 

Havre,    110 

Hazard,  F.  R.,  91 

Hazard     Memorial     Hall, 
Peace  Dale,  47 

Hazard,  Miss  Caroline,  45, 
46,  90,  91 

Hazard,  Mrs.  R.  G.,  46,  90 

Hazard,  Mrs.  Rowland,  45 

Hazard,  R.  G.,  45,  46 

Hazard,  Rowland,  46 

"Heavens  are  Telling,  The," 
120 

Heinrich,  Max,  134 

"Help,  Lord,"  (chorus),  129 

Henschel,  Georg,  57 

Henschel,  Mrs.,   57 

Her  Majesty's  Theatre,  Lon- 
don, 116 

Hinckley,  Mrs.  H.  F.,  91 

Hodgman,  Adelaide  K.,  90 

Hodgman,  Miss  Hope  K.,  90 

Hodgman,  Mrs.  William  L., 
90 

Hogan,  Miss  Helen,  38 

Holland,    Mr.,    51 

Hollis  Street  Theatre,  Bos- 
ton, 156 

Rowland,  Caroline  T.,  90 

Rowland,   Judge    Henry,    22 

Rowland,  Mrs.  Henry,  23, 
25 

Hudson,   Hendrick,   113 


Hunter,    Mrs.    Jennie    (Tan- 
ner),   144 
"Hymn  of  Praise,"  60,  62 

lacovino,  Mary,   68,    69 
"'II     Barbiere     di     Sivglia," 

(opera),    54 
Infantry     Hall,     Providence, 

36,   108 
"Ingemisco,"    (Tenor  solo  in 

Verdi's   Requiem),    80 
Ireland,  125 
Irish  concert,  124,  125 
Irish  folk  songs,  124 
Irving,  Washington,  112 
Italy,  109,  133 

Jepherson,  George  A.,  32 

Jess,  (one  of  the  author's 
horses),  160,  161,  162, 
163,  164 

Jones,  Mrs.  Jane  Brown,  91 

Jordan,  Charles  B.,  (broth- 
er), dedication 

Jordan,  George  E.,  (half- 
brother)  ,  9 

Jordan,  Hannah  Capwell, 
(grandmother),  10 

Jordan,'  Jennie  B.,  (sister) , 
dedication 

Jordan,  Jules,  30,  31,  32,  33, 
34,  35,  36,  37,  83,  90, 
113,  115,  123 

Jordan,   Julius,    (Jules),    12. 

Jordan,  Julian,  (twin  broth- 
er), dedication,  10,  11,  12 

Jordan,  L.  F.,  (brother), 
dedication 

Jordan,  Lyman,  (father), 
dedication 

Jordan,  Nancy,  (half-sister), 
9 

Jordan,  Rev.  D.  A.,  (broth- 
er), dedication 

Jordan,  Susan  Beckwith, 
(mother),  dedication 

Jordan,  Thomas,  (grand- 
father), 10 

Jordan,  Van  Buren,  (half- 
brother),  9 


INDEX 


191 


Journal,  Providence,  13,  30, 

37,  65 

Journal,  Sunday,  127 
"Joyfully,    joyfully," 

(hymn),   12 
Juch,   Mme.   Emma,   32,   34, 

35 
"Just     as     a     Lark     Trills," 

(song),  119 

Keith  circuit,  69 

Keith's  Theatre,  Providence, 
107,  167 

Kellogg,  Clara  Louise,  32, 
39,  51,  52,  53,  127,  130, 
131,  166 

Kellogg,   Mrs.,    39,   40 

Kelly,   Eben,   86 

Kelsey,  Mme.  Rider,  134 

Kelso,  John,  144 

Kershaw,  John,  91 

Kimball,  Mrs.  Jennie  Car- 
penter, 143 

Kinder,   Ralph,    38 

"King  All  Glorious,"  (an- 
them), 125 

"King    Olaf,"    33 

King,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Freder- 
ick, 149 

Kirksville,  Mo.,  115 

Knight,  Mrs.   B.   B.,   90 

Knight,  Mrs.  C.  Prescott,  91 

Knight,  Mrs.   Webster,  91 

Krafft,  William,  167 

Krehbiel,  H.  E.,  134 

"La  Charite,"    (song),   138 
"La   Damnation    de    Faust," 
23,  26,  55,  111,  120,  134, 
139,  140 

"La  Gioconda,"  (opera),  142 
Lamperti,  18 
Lariviere,   Edouard,    69 
Lariviere,  Laurent,   70 
"Last    Night   I    was    Dream- 
ing,"   (song),    51 
Lawton,  Miss  E.  C.,  91 
"Leap-Year    Furlough,     A," 

167 

Leipzig,  137 
Lennon,  Joseph,  26,  27 


"Le      Printemps,"       (song) , 
138 

"Les    Huguenots,"    (opera), 
119 

Lisbon,  N.   H.,   50,   163 

Livingstone,  Thomas,   146 

Liza,    (one    of    the    author's 
horses),    160,    165 

Lloyd,  Edward,  33 

"Lohengrin,"     (opera),     38, 
127 

London,  51,  53,   118,   137 

"Love's     Philosophy,"      (au- 
thor's first  song),  40 

"Lorelei,"  132 

"Love    and    War,"    (opera), 
167 

"Lovely      Rosabelle,      The," 
151 

"Lucia,"   (opera),  53,  54 

Ludlow,  Vt.,  50 

Ludwig  (Ledwidge)   Wil- 
liam,  124,    125,    126,   133 

Madi-Fursch,   33 
Mansir,  Miss  Harriet,  38 
Marchesi,   Mme.,   145 
"Marriage   of  Figaro,"    (op- 
era), 138 

"Martha,"    (opera),   142 
Martin,   Fred,   33 
Martin,   Mr.   and   Mrs.,   130, 

154 
Martin,    Mrs.     E.     H.,     134, 

154,    155 
Mason,    Mr.    and   Mrs.    John 

H.,   91 

Mason,  John  H.,  37 
Mason,  Mrs.  Laura,  90 
Margarita    (Faust),    127 
Mathews,    Mrs.    George    S., 

91 

Mathewson,  Miss  Edna,   38 
Mathewson     Street     M.     E. 

Church,     Providence,     16, 

107 

MacColl,  James  R.,  91 
McCabe,  Mary,   142 
McDonald,  William,  113,  114 
McDowell,  42,  43 
McKaye,    (soprano),   145 


192 


INDEX 


Mechanics   Hall,    Boston,   34 
Mefistofele,    (opera),    118 
"Meistersingers,"       (opera), 

154 

Melba,   Mme.,   35,   36,   134 
Memorial    Hall,    Providence, 

108 

Mendelssohn,  31,  79,  166 
Mephisto,   24,    124 
"Messiah,   The,"    (oratorio), 

23,  120 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

Willimantic,   10,   15,  22 
Metropolitan   opera,   36,    79, 

132,  134 
Meyerbeer,  111 
Mielke,  Mme.,  33 
Mignon,    (opera),   118 
Miles,    Gwillym,    134 
Miller  songs,  21 
Modjeska,  Mme.  Helena,  136 
Mollenhauer,    Emil,    167 
Morgana,  (character  in  "Rip 

Van  Winkle,"),  113 
Mororowski,  Ivan,  29 
"Mother  of  the  Arion  Club," 

155 
Moulton,   Annie,    (soprano), 

145 

Mount  Washington,   44 
Mozart,  21,  138 
Munroe,  A.  C.,  80,  81 
Mus.     Doc.,     (degree     from 

Brown),   66 

Music  Hall,   Boston,   26 
Music  Hall,  Providence,  108 
Musical  Courier,  120 

Narragansett  Choral  Society, 
(Peace  Dale),  45,  46,  50 

Narragansett  Hotel,  Provi- 
dence, 35 

Narragansett  Pier,  R.  I.,  167 

"Narrator,"  (part  in  "The 
Redemption"),  28,  29 

Newark,  N.  J.,  139 

New  Bedford,  161 

New  England  Conservatory, 
18 

New  London,  Conn,  9,  10 

Newman,  Cardinal,  33 


Newport,  R.  I.,  21,  167 
Newport,  Vt.,  50 
New  York,  39,  139 
New  York  Arion  Society,  23 
New  York  Herald,  24,  26 
New  York  National   Conser- 
vatory,   139 
New  York  Oratorio  Society, 

23 

New  York  Tribune,  134,  140 
Nichols,  Miss  Edith,  90,  91 
Nichols,  Miss  Isabelle  B.  S., 

90 
Nickerson,  Miss  Lyra  Brown, 

91 

Nielsen,  Alice,  113 
Nilsson,    Christine,    17,    118, 

137 

Nice,    (Casino   Theatre),   54 
"Nisida,"    (opera),    116 
Nordica,    Mme.    Lillian,    32, 
34,  35,  36,  126,  127,  128, 
129,   130,    131,    132,    133, 
134 

North  Attleboro,  Mass.,  167 
Norwich  Town,  Conn.,  13 

Oakwoods,       (residence      of 

Rowland     Hazard,     Peace 

Dale} ,    46 
Odeon    Theatre,  Arctic,  R.  I., 

167 
"Oh,  Sacred  Head,"   (song), 

45,   151 

O'Neil,   John,    133 
Opera      Comique,      (Paris), 

138 
Osgood,   George   L.,    18,   21, 

39,    83 
Oster,  Abraham,   143 

Palestina,  21 

Palmer,    Henry    R.,    preface 

Palmer,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  .R., 

152 
Paris,  51,  52,  53,  128,   130, 

133 

Parker,  J.  C.  D.,  18   ' 
Parkinson,   James,    91 
"Pass  Me  Not,"   (hymn),  44 
Pawtucket  Auditorium,  34 


INDEX 


193 


Peace  Dale,  R.  I.,  45,  46,  50 
Peiler,    Carl,    153 
Pettytt,  Mrs.  W.  H.,  145 
Philadelphia,    139,    156 
Philharmonic  Orchestra,  New 

York,  23 

Philp,  William,  113 
"Phoenix     Expirans,"     (ora- 
torio), 36 

Pickering,  George  H.,  38 
Pierne,  (composer),  33 
Pinsuti,  Giro,  (composer), 

51 

Players,  The,  31 
Point  Street,  Providence,  14 
Polonaise,    (from   the    opera 

"Mignon"),    118 
Ponchielli,    (composer),    142 
Porter,  I.  Frank,  146 
Potter,   Bishop,   40 
Potter,   Frank,    40 
Potter,  Mabel  A.  Palmer,  90 
Potter,  Mrs.   Isaac,  91 
Potter,    W.    A.,    12,    13 
Pottle,    The,    (story   about), 

125 

Prehn,   George,   134 
Press  notices,  140,   141 
"Prisoner's  Friend,"  44 
"Professor,      The,"      (play), 

156 

Progenitors,  9 
Providence  Boys'  Club,  31 
Providence,   13,   14,  16,   19 
Providence  Journal,   13,   30, 

37,   65 

Providence  Tribune,   69 
Pueate,   Del,   36 

"Redemption,     The,"      (ora- 
torio),  26,  27,  29,   82 
Raoul,   (character  in  opera), 

119 

Raymond,    Judge,    107 
Read,   Charles   O.,   90,   91 
Reed,  Rev.   George  E.,  22 
Reeves,   D.   W.,   15,   17,   19, 

20 

Reeves,  Sims,  56,  63 
Rehearsals,    106 
Remington,   Judge,   106 


Remmertz,  Franz,  24,  25 

"Requiem,"  (Verdi's),  127 

Rhine,  137 

Rheinberger,  21,  31 

Rhode   Island,   44 

Rhode    Island    State    Prison, 

44 

Rhodes,  Cornelius,  40 
Rice,    Esther,    (Eddie),    147 
Richards,   Dr.,   149 
Rieger,  William   H.,   134 
"Rigoletto,"    (quartette),  70 
Rio  Anita,   134 
"Rip  Van  Winkle,"   (opera), 

112,  166,  167 
"Ritorna   Vincitor,"    131 
"Rivals,  The,"   (opera),  167 
"Roberto    il    Diavolo,"     (op- 
era),   111 

Robinson,  L.  M.,  91 
Rogers,  Walter  E.,  142 
Rogers,  William  E.,  142 
Rogers     Memorial      Church, 

144 

"Romeo    and    Juliet,"     (op- 
era), 38 
Rossini,  74,  107 
Royal  Albert  Hall,  137 
Rowse,  William,  144 
Ruben,  L.  M.,   139 
Rubini,  109 
Rubinstein,  31,   141 
Rue  Provence,  26,  52 
Russell,  Emery,  32 

S.,  Mr.,  51,  53 

Saacke,   Gustav,    153 

St.   Cecelia  Mass,   57 

St.  John's  Church,  Provi- 
dence 

"St.    Paul,"    (oratorio),    140 

St.  Petersburg,   133 

St.  Stephen's  Church,  Provi- 
dence, 40 

Salisbury,  Mrs.  Evelyn  Jor- 
dan, 146 

"Samson  and  Delilah,"  (op- 
era), 50 

San  Francisco,  114 

San   Giovanni,   133 

Sayles,  Mrs.   Frank  A.,  91 


194 


INDEX 


Sbriglia,   Giovanni,    (singing 
teacher),    52,   53,    54,    55, 

109,  110,  127,  129,  133 
Scallop  Shell,  The,  46 
Schirmer,   Rudolf,  Jr.,   41 
Schloss,  Derrick,   158 
Schmidt,  A.  P.,  41 
Schubert,  31,  119 
Schubert  Song  Recital,  21 
Schumann,   31,   119 
Scituate,   Mass.,    150 
Sears,   Montgomery,   156 
Sembrich,     Mme.     Marcella, 

32,  134 

Sharpe,  Henry  D.,  91 
Sharpe,  Miss  Ellen  D.,  90 
Shelley,   Harry   Rowe,   42 
Shelley,    Percy    Byssche,    40 
Shepard,  John,  Jr.,  91 
"Some    Folks,"     (song),    11 
"Sonambula,"   (opera),  53 
South  Framingham,  Mass,  50 
Spalding,  Mr.,   128 
Spooner,    Mrs.    Carry   Doty, 

146 

Sprague,  N.   B.,   37,  45 
Squire,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry, 

110,  111 

Stamford,   Conn.,   22 
Stanley,  Albert,   18,   19,   37, 

45 

Scovelli,   Mr.,    128 
"Stabat    Mater,"    (Rossini), 

58 

Stanwood,  C.  Wilson,  143 
"Star  of  My  Heart,"  (song), 

119 

Stark,   Charles   R.,    91 
Starkweather,  J.  U.,  149 
Steinway    Hall,    New    York, 

25,  26,   120 
Stone,   Mrs.,    59 
Stone,  Mrs.  Clara  Hicks,  147 
Stone,    Mrs.    Charles    Moul- 

ton,  145 

Stone,  W.  D.,  59 
Stonington,  Conn.,  152,  167 
Story,  Frank,    144 
Strand  Theatre,  Providence, 

108 


Sturges,   Mrs.    Alice   K.,    90, 

91 

Sullivan,  Sir  Arthur  S.,  136 
Swanson,   Oscar,   91 
"Sweet  Bye  and  Bye,  The," 

(song),  15 
Swedenborgian,   165 

Talma   Theatre,   Providence, 

30 
"There,     Little     Girl,     Don't 

Cry,"    (song),   41 
"Thief,   The   Pentinent,"   28 
Thomas,  Theodore,  133,  151 
Tingley,   S.   H.,   91 
"Tomba    degl'    avi    miei," 

(aria),   54 

"Tom   Bowling,"    (song)    63 
Tosti,  Paola,   136 
Tourgee,  Eben,   18 
Towne,  Walter  J.,  86 
Tribune,   Providence,   69 
Tribune,  New  York,  134,  140 
"Tristan,"  132 
Trocadero,    (Paris),    138 
Turiddo,   (character  in  oper- 

a),  147 

University  of  Michigan,  19 
"Upon   'the    Danube    River," 
(song),  136 

Van  Hoose,  Ellison,  134 
Vedder,    (character  in   "Rip 

Van  Winkle),  113 
Verdi,   58 
Vianesi,  54,  55 
Von  Gottschalk,  Dr.  William, 

81 

Warren,  R  I.,  37 
Walker,  Jennie  Patrick,  134 
Washington,  111 
Waterman,  Harold  P.,  90 
Westerly,  R.  I.,  167 
Western  Union,  17 
White,  Mrs.  Merwin,  91 
Whiting,  George  W.,  18,  57 
Whitmarsh,   Mrs.    H.    A.,   91 
Whitney,  Myron,  33 


INDEX  195 

Whitney,  S.   B.,  156  Woodward,  Miss  Bertha,  38 

Wilkinson,   Herbert,   144  Wollf,     William,      (actor), 

Williams,   Evan,   60,    61,    62  111,  150 

Willimantic    Camp    Meeting,  Worcester  Festival,    35,    48, 

22  55 

Willimantic,    Conn.,    22  Wright,  Mrs.  Percy,  144 
"Wilt  Thou  Remember  Me?" 

(song),    28  Y.   M.   C.   A.   Hall,  Provi- 

" Winter's  Journey,"    (Schu-  dence,   107 

bert  song  cycle),   21 

Witherspoon,   Herbert,  33  Zerrahn,  Carl,  79,  80,  81 


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